Different Times
by over-and-over
Summary: What if in a parallel time line to Chris' future, the dark overlord is Leo?And what if there everything is different?What if during a hunt Melinda fell through a portal and somehow found herself in 2003,where Chris is trying to find out who turns Wyatt evil?Will she manage to get back home before Leo takes his anger out on her brothers?And will Chris manage to save Wyatt?
1. Chapter 1

"Anwen, duck!" I yell but the stubborn blonde refuses to listen to me. She aims a kick to the demon's side but he is faster than her. He grabs her foot mid-air and twists it before throwing her across the yard. Anwen screams as she collides with the wall, above the fence that surrounds the little yard "Damn it Anwen!" I hiss through gritted teeth.

The demon then turns his attention to me. Bloody slimy thing! He raises his left hand, an energy ball playing at the tips of his fingers. He hurls it through the air and I barely miss it by pulling on the side. My eyes catch sight of a pile of pillars resting near my fallen charge. With a swift move of my hand the top two fly straight to the demon.

He howls like a wounded animal when the first one penetrates his chest. The other hits the back of his head with a sickening 'bang' noise. He stumbles forward, but doesn't fall down. I have to admire his determination. Before he can recollect himself I thrust my hand inside my pocket. My fingers brush against two vials and my eyes unwillingly turn to Anwen who has started steering. I press my lips together and taking out the vial with the vivid green potion I throw it with all my might towards the demon.

The Grimlock shrieks in pain. His hands cover his eyes and he falls to his knees as the flames swallow his body. Once he is gone from my sight I allow myself to calm down a little. The big question now is how did the Grimlock attain the power of throwing energy balls?

"Argh," Anwen groans bringing me at once back to reality. I rush to her and kneel next to her broken body. With a quick glance I see one broken ankle, several broken ribs, a massive blow to her spine, and a severe concussion. Blood is purring freely from a gush on her forehead and I can see bloody bubbles appearing at the corners of her lips.

"It's alright An, I'll fix you," I promise taking a hold of her hand. She squeezes it hard as she can but it is as if a baby is trying to hurt me.

I blink back my tears and raise both my hands over her body. Anwen is my first charge and we have come too close to dying too many times. We have formed a bond I have only experience with my family members and that scares me. What if I lose her before she is ready to accept her wings? I don't think I will be able to handle that.

A burning sensation runs through out me and I feel it finding a way out through my fingertips. A golden light surrounds me and I gasp in disbelief. It is the first time I heal anyone, the first time I had no time to orb Anwen to another Whitelighter and make him do it for me. For some reason never before was I able to do it, something was blocking me.

Anwen sighs and the golden light dies out. I scramble closer to her my eyes searching carefully her face, her body, her breathing. She seems fine. But looks can be deceiving. I raise my hand again, palm down, over her body, and close my eyes. Her spine is fine, the ribs are repaired, and her concussion is gone. I have healed her!

"Wow," she breathes in a hoarse voice and my eyes fly open "You did it!"

"I know," I say in deep disbelief. Anwen smiles at me smugly.

"I always said you would," she says and I roll my eyes.

"Shut up!"

She smiles and I feel my heart swelling inside my chest. If I didn't know any better I'd think that I am in love. But I am not, it is just the feeling of saving someone's life, someone who is gravely important to me.

I lick my lips and once again my hand darts inside my pocket. I toy with the little vial as Anwen pushes herself off the dirty street and makes herself more comfortable in a sitting position. She looks at me and her smile fades. My troubled expression must have alarmed her.

"Mel, what's wrong?" she asks her hand coming to rest on my shoulder. I sigh.

"I did something...or, I am going to do something," I correct myself and she frowns "Something that will break the rules and will make the rest of my family really upset with me."

"You are scarring me Mel."

"It's just...You are my best friend An, and...I can't lose you," I say trying to convene with words and facial expressions the degree of my dependency on her. I cannot lose her.

"I know, and you won't."

"I...I don't..." I sigh and pause "With everything going on, with all this demon hunting and the war...what if one day we are not fast enough?" I ask and she takes a sharp breath "What if that day is before you get your powers?"

"Melinda..."

"No, I've thought about it. Thoroughly," I say and she smiles. She knows that I never do anything irrational "And I think that this is the best solution," I say drawing out the potion.

"A potion?" she asks cringing her nose.

"Yeah and...it's innovative."

"What is that supposed to mean?" she asks and I blush.

"Well...I made it."

"You mean you brew it?" she asks hopefully raising her eyebrows.

"More likely, invented it," I say and cringe.

"What?"

"I was desperate An, you need to understand!"

Anwen looks at me and then at the vial. It is as if I can see the cogs turning in her head, forming into thoughts that I can almost hear. But she doesn't understand! She can't! She doesn't know what it feels like every time I have to leave her and go back to that place, the one I grew up calling home, after what he did to it. After what he did to almost everyone I love!

"It has to do with him, hasn't it?" she asks and I simply nod. She swallows and a pair of pearly white teeth sinks on her lower lip. Her eyes dart from the vial to my face before she opens her hand, demanding for it. I shake my head.

"You can't drink it, I will have to throw it at you," I say and she frowns but doesn't question me. I nod stand up and walk a couple of steps backwards, ready to throw the potion at her but...

My foot sinks on the street and I scream. The earth underneath me is not solid anymore. Anwen screams my name but she still has no powers and she can't orb to save me. She turns her eyes, teary eyes on the sky and begs but I know that nothing will happen. If I had just the time to throw the potion at her, to know that she is going to be ok. But I hadn't. I try to call her name but then everything disappears.


	2. Chapter 2

**Disclaimer**: I don't own the series Charmed or any of the original characters.

**A/N**: hey people! This is my next chapter, I'm not really very fond of it but it hopes it works. I took a liberty creating a potion, I know that there's a spell that works exactly like my potion does but when I wrote this chapter I kind of forgot about it.

"I swear to God, if I cannot save you, I will stop you," Chris said looking at his big brother sitting inside his crib, his blue eyes looking at him questioningly. Chris pushed away from the frame of the door and started walking down the hallway when he saw her.  
She had long dark brown, almost black hair, and a slender figure. Her skin was white, but not as white as Paige's. She had on oval shaped face, with high cheekbones and bright green eyes. Similar to his. Her expression was both shocked and scared. She hadn't seen him yet.

Melinda looked around her feeling sick in her stomach. If she was back it meant that he wanted her back, because he knew what she was about to do. Her lungs burned as she fought for air, panting. Delirious with fear and anger as she was she didn't notice the small differences, like the photographs hanging from the wall.

"Who are you?" she heard a voice, a familiar voice behind her and she span around. Relief filled her pale white face at the sight of her brother.

"Chris! Thank god you are here!" she said rushing towards him but a few steps before she reached him she stopped "What are you doing here? Did he bring you? Did he hurt you? Where is Wyatt?" she asked and Chris blinked back at her.

"Who are you?" he asked again not making any sense out of her words. How did this girl know about Wyatt? And why did she look so familiar?

"Chris, stop kidding around."

"I am not."

"Stop it! We have to get out of here," she said stubbornly. She moved to pass away from him but he stopped her, grabbing her arm.

"Who are you? What are you doing here?" he asked this time harsher his eyes pinning in hers.  
Melinda's eyebrows knitted together as she looked at the face of her older brother. Maybe he was possessed? But he looked the same old Chris, the one who just that morning told her to be careful. Melinda tried to think. Maybe he had hit his head and he got amnesia?

A baby's cry jolted her. Chris turned to look towards a door to his left and she found the opportunity to free her hand. The baby cried out again and curious as she was she strolled straight into his room. What was a baby doing there anyway?

"Oh, my god!" she exclaimed as her eyes fell on the blond baby with the bright blue eyes. When he saw her he stopped crying, his clever eyes studding her. Melinda's eyes travelled around the room and fell on a photograph on an end table next to a huge white armchair. It was of Wyatt with his family; Melinda frowned; that wasn't Wyatt's whole family! And what was **he** doing in the picture?

"Wy?" she asked moving closer to the toddler in the crib "Is that you?" the baby giggled.

"Oh great! You let her come near you, but not me? That's so typical of you!" Chris said and Melinda suppressed a smile.

"We don't want grumpy Chris around, do we Wy?" she asked and the baby giggled again.

"I am not grumpy!" Chris exclaimed before composing himself "How do you know my name?"

Before Melinda had a chance to answer Wyatt had conjured the vial from her pocket to his crib. She swore through her teeth and tried to get it away. But Wyatt, always the tease, raised his force field around the crib, and threw her across the room.

"Ouch," she exclaimed rubbing the back of her neck "Not cool Wy! Wait until you get older..."

"Now, who's grumpy?" Chris asked offering her a hand. Melinda accepted it and he pulled her up just as voices filled the hallway.

"They are coming," she said and he looked at the door.

"I know."

"So we are in the past?" she asked before she could contain herself.

"I am, I don't know about you," he said and she bit her bottom lip. This Chris looked exactly like her brother, which would make him twenty two. She was twenty, just two years younger. But Chris, this Chris who was from the future, did not know her.

"Different time line?" she asked.

"I suppose so, how do you know me? And Wyatt?" he asked and she shook her head.

"Later. Let's just tell them I am your girlfriend."

"What?"

"But no kissing, I am not into incest."

"Incest?" Chris asked raising both his eyebrows. Melinda had no time to answer because the Haliwell sisters walked inside the nursery.

"Where's my little nephew? Where is he?" Phoebe cooed over the baby crib and Melinda felt a pinch in her heart. She hadn't seen Phoebe for many years now.

"You'll turn him gay some day, I swear," Paige murmured under her breath but both Chris and Melinda heard and sniggered. They looked at each other, sharing a look that went beyond parallel universes.

"See, no evil," Piper said sarcastically and Melinda felt a longing as her mother came in full view.

Her mother. Wow she had years to think of that word. It was never spoken inside the manor and when she was alone with her brothers they had other things to talk about. Their mom was a forbidden subject; it made Wyatt angry, and Chris bitter, it would make her tense and silent. Then Wyatt would do something fun just to take her mind off of it.

A smile appeared on Melinda's face as she thought of her brothers. Her eyes quickly found Wyatt and he grinned with all his toothless glory at her. She felt a pair of eyes on the side of her head and she knew that Chris was watching her.

"I told you Piper, I heard..."

Melinda flinched as Leo walked inside the room. His face was younger, and he was slender than the Leo of her time but he was still the same guy. Her eyes narrowed and her hands started trembling; she was losing control and she couldn't afford too. She felt Chris's hand on her arm and she took a deep breath. If Chris could stand the sight of him next to their mother, then so could she!

"Oh," Phoebe muttered when her eyes fell on Chris and the newcomer. Her breath hitched slightly on her throat and for a moment she was scared that she was going crazy. So did Piper.

The girl standing next to their neurotic Whitelighter made her feel light headed. She looked so much like Prue that it was uncanny. Same dark hair colour, same shape, and eye colour, same skin complex.

Melinda felt like squirming under the curious gazes but she kept her posture. Chin held high and rigid nerves she met everyone's eyes until she made them look away first. Only Piper kept her eyes fixed on the teenager.  
"Chris," she asked lethally sweetly "Who is this?"

"She is ugh..." he hesitated before Melinda painfully pinched his arm "My girlfriend!" it came out strained and sudden.

"Oh, is that right?" Piper said looking straight at Melinda. The girl felt like smiling; her mom always did that when she was trying to intimidate her.

"Yes, that's right!" she said brightly making a step forward, standing right in front of Chris "I'm Melinda Warren," she said challengingly and saw Piper's eyes widening "Christopher's girlfriend."

"From the future?" Paige asked and Melinda looked at her other aunt, the one she had said goodbye to not more than three hours ago.

"Well yeah, I hope he didn't cheat on me," Melinda said looking at Chris' above her shoulder.

"Please, love," he said wrapping his arm around her waist but not moving anywhere closer to her, for which Melinda was grateful "You know I didn't."

"All that is lovely," Phoebe spoke "But what are you doing here?" she asked and Melinda found herself at lose of words. What was she doing here? And where exactly here was?

"She had to tell me something important," Chris said. Melinda felt like hugging him; always covering for her, her Chris "And it couldn't wait."

"Does it have to do with Wyatt?" Leo asked and she had to try not to glower to his direction "Has to do with the demon that hurts him?"

"I can't tell, future consequences," Chris muttered in a monotone and Melinda guessed that it was his usual motto. One that she had to obtain if she wanted to get out of there without creating a mess.

"Great! Another thing you cannot talk to us about," Paige said nodding her head. Chris grimaced shrugging.

"So...are we done? I really do need to do some talking with Chris," Melinda said taking a step backwards and effectively crushing onto the older man. She tried not to cringe, at least not too much.

"Done? We haven't even started," Piper said crossing her arms over her chest. Melinda swallowed, she knew that look; it was the interrogation-mode-turned-on look. Chris must have seen it too cause she felt him tensing up.

"Right now? Piper, there are demons out there..."

"And they will still be there after we talk this out," Piper cut him off.

"But..." Chris tried again.

"No, 'buts'," Piper said effectively terminating the conversation. Melinda took a deep breath and faced her family, and the intruder. She could handle the questioning, and she could keep her emotions to herself; that's what she was best at doing. What she couldn't do was force Chris to stay and watch.

"Okay fine but, Chris has some researching to do," she lied and turned around to face her brother "Don't you honey?"

"Yes, right, I do," he said the corner of his lips quirked up for the fraction of a moment.

"Good, we don't need him for the interrogation," she said clapping her hands.

"Who said anything about an interrogation?" Leo asked stepping forward and instinctively Melinda reached for Chris's hand. He gave her a weird look, but squeezed her hand in reassurance, even though he couldn't understand what was going on in her mind "We just want to chat," he said with a smile.

"Leo, don't you have some place to be?" Piper asked scratching the back of her ear. He looked at her confused.

"I do?"

"Ha-hah," she nodded and his surprised gaze turned into understanding. His eyes found Melinda's and he grimaced.

"I have some place to be," he said shrugging "Play good," he muttered admonishing his three charges "I'll stop by later to say goodbye to Wyatt," he said and once again Melinda felt Chris tensing beside her.  
It was not a secret that Leo favoured Wyatt. He always ignored Chris, and tried to make some time for Melinda but she never wanted him to. Chris was their mother's son but neither Wyatt nor Melinda had a problem with it. Besides Melinda was the favourite niece of everyone's. That way they all had someone to tend after their whims. Well until Leo...

Melinda shook her head, thinking about that right now was a suicide wish. Phoebe should have attained her empathic powers by then and despite the jet lag she'd soon catch up on her feelings. Melinda knew she had to be careful.

"So I guess, to the living room?" Melinda asked right after Leo orbed out and without waiting for a response she walked out.

"Hmm, she already reminds me of you," Piper said shooting a look at Chris.

The young witch was too caught up on his thoughts to pay any mind on his mother's words. From everything that Melinda had said before the sisters walked in, he easily concluded that she was his sister. Problem was, he didn't have a sister, not that he knew off. And he doubted that Piper would ever give her daughter away, no matter what.  
But Melinda spoke like a Haliwell, looked like a Haliwell, and even acted as one. Her name was also a giveaway, and why would she change 'Warren' for a surname unless she wanted to make sure that everyone, or at least him, realised who she really was?

"Chris, hey, Chris I'm talking to you," Piper said snapping her fingers in front of his face.

"Hm?" Chris asked snapping out of his thoughts. His eyes focused on his mother, that held no love or care for him for she didn't know who he really was.

"Melinda, can we trust her?"

"What does your instinct tell you?" Chris asked and Piper hesitated. He looked to Phoebe and then Paige but they too remained silent "You can trust her, although I shouldn't be the one telling you this. Ask her your questions, but don't make them difficult to be answered," he advised "And don't force her to talk about the future," he said sternly.

"Blah, blah, future consequences, blah, blah," Paige said with a smirk. Chris rolled his eyes.

"I'm happy that you find my warnings amusing, just don't whine when they come to back bite your..."

"Hey, language!" Phoebe broke in.

"I was gonna say face, but whatever," Chris muttered throwing his hands up before orbing away.

Melinda sat on the couch, opposite her mother and her two aunts, awaiting the onslaught of questions. On the mean time her mind never stopped thinking; if Wyatt was about two years old, then that meant that Chris should be conceived in less than six months. And from what she could see Piper and Leo's relationship was barely friendly. One would characterize them as polite for the sake of Wyatt.  
It did make sense that Chris didn't know her; if Piper already didn't like Leo, she'd surely not let him anywhere near the manor after Chris's birth, hence no Melinda Haliwell. She didn't have a problem with that if it meant less physical and emotional pain for her family. Her reality was already screwed up but if she could prevent the same thing from happening to this one, then she could go back happy. The million dollar question was this; when and how was she going to get back?

"You gonna use a polygraph or something?" she asked teasingly just to break the tension that was starting to get on her nerves.

"We don't need to," Piper answered resting her hand on Phoebe's shoulder.

"Great, so why don't we get started?" she asked crossing her legs over her knees. She was having much more fun than she expected; facing an interrogation with the charmed ones was not something to think light off, but they were family. And Melinda had oh so long to see all three of them together.

"Okay so your name is really Melinda Warren?" Paige asked and Melinda smiled.

"No, it is Melinda, but not Warren," she said knowing that Phoebe could sense by now when she was lying or not.  
"So you lied?"

"I did not, it was my great-great-great-great...grandmother's name, but definitely not mine. So I technically did not lie," she said with a smug smile.

"What's your real last name?"

"I have two," she said and Phoebe's interest perked up, she leaned forward on her seat, crossing her arms over her knees.

"Two last names?" she asked and Melinda nodded "Why?"

"I was adopted," she spoke and her eyes found Paige's, locking their gazes together. She was indeed adopted, though no legally and...Well it was a complicated story "But I kept both names, and, no I can't tell them to you."

"Why not?" Piper pressed and Melinda smirked.

"Future consequences," she said adopting Chris's monotone. Piper rolled her eyes and threw her hands up, resting back on the couch.

"Are you and Chris...close?" Phoebe asked. She knew that if she asked whether they were a couple or not, Melinda wouldn't answer so she went for the next best thing.

"Yes, but I cannot say more on the subject."  
"Can we trust you?" Piper asked her eyes studying the girl's face. It was almost painful to look at her face.

"What does your instinct tell you?" the Whitelighter in her kicked in and Melinda silently cursed herself.

"Wow, you really **are** close with Chris," Paige noticed.

"Well?" Piper asked and Melinda took a deep breath. She looked from her mom to her older aunt and then to her younger before her eyes returned to Phoebe.

"Yes."

"Can we trust Chris?" Paige asked and both her sisters looked at her. Paige's face turned innocent and she shrugged.  
"You can definitely trust Chris," Melinda said with a fond smile.

It was not a secret in the Haliwell clan that Melinda had a small preference to Chris. Just like it was known that Wyatt had a soft spot for Mel, and that Chris was looking up to Wyatt.

"Do you know us, in the future?" Phoebe inquired and Melinda felt her guts turning into knots.

"I know you," she said slowly picking her words carefully.

"How well?"

"Well enough."

"And Wyatt?" Piper asked and her worry was clear in her eyes.

"And Wyatt too."

"How did you come here?" Paige asked thoughtfully. Melinda frowned and quirked her lips.

"Actually...I don't know. I was with one of my charges..."

"You are a Whitelighter?" Phoebe asked surprised. Melinda narrowed her eyes.

"Got a problem with that?" Phoebe chuckled. The girl had a backbone, she liked that. She shook her head and motioned for her to continue.

"But I thought you had something important to tell Chris," Piper said raising an eyebrow and Melinda silently cursed.

"Well yeah...But I had planned to open a portal not to just get sucked by one while I was with my charge! We were fighting this demon..."she stopped and her eyes grew wide open "Oh shit!" she cussed jumping up and heading for the stairs.

"That doesn't sound good," Paige admonished just as Piper said,

"Shit? Oh, I don't like shit!"

Melinda walked into Wyatt's nursery and saw the baby sitting in the crib, talking animatedly to his teddy bear. She smiled at her older brother, not in her craziest dreams would she imagine of a time when she'd be older than him. Melinda tried to walk inside unnoticed but she stepped onto a squealing plank and Wyatt's eyes shot up to her face.

"Hey buddy, remember me, Melinda?" she asked and the baby giggled at her "Yeah that's right you like me," she added walking closer to him "Now, be a good boy and please baby, let me come close to you," she pleaded and Wyatt giggled again.  
She saw the vial resting next to his left leg. She knew that she had to be quick cause Wyatt could at any moment decide that it was time for tease again and raise his shield. But she had to be careful; any sudden movement could scare or provoke him.

"Damn it, even as a small baby I cannot figure you out Wy," she whispered. Wyatt's eyes pinned in hers and for the first time since she had arrived in that bizarre world Melinda felt like she was home.

"What are you doing?" Piper's voice reached her ears. Her brother turned to look at their mother and smiled as she took another step closer to him.

"Do you see that vial?" she asked.

"How did it get there?" Paige questioned.

"He summoned it to him, from inside my pocket."

"Is it dangerous?" Phoebe sounded apprehensive and Melinda had to smile because Wyatt was once again looking at her.

"For him? No. For the rest of the world?" she asked thinking what her big brother would be able to do after drinking the potion "Potentially."

"What are you planning to do?" Piper asked again.

"I could always summon it to me, the same way he did," she said without paying any mind to her words.

"So you are a witch, too?" Paige more stated than asked.

"I am a Whitelighter as I said," Melinda decided to go for the half truth "So I can orb things around but then he's just going to raise his shield..."

"You know about the shield?" Melinda looked up to her mother and smiled cocking her head towards the fallen shelve.

"He did knock me on the wall with it," she said and instantly the sisters posture turned offensive "Relax he did it for fun not because he thinks I am evil, isn't that right Wy?" she asked in a baby voice and Wyatt giggled clapping his hands. She wiggled her eyebrows before continuing "So I thought about grabbing it."

"He's gonna summon it back."

"He won't be able too, not if I hold on it," she said giving her leverage away.

She was somewhat immune to Wyatt's powers. He could still summon something that was inside her pockets but not if she was holding on to it. Chris tried many times to resonate the fact but attempt after attempt fell on a roadblock until he finally gave up. No one knew what stopped Wyatt's powers and for Chris's sanity none would ever find out. Melinda chuckled to herself; Chris would lose it if anyone else was able to figure something that he couldn't.

"Hey buddy," she said leaning over the railing and smiling to the toddler "Having fun?"

Wyatt raised his arms in an obvious demand to be held and she quickly grabbed the vial before wrapping one arm underneath his feet and the other around his back and picking him off his cot. Piper took a step towards them, feeling quite unsettled with the young witch holding her son but something held her back from saying anything. The same thing that stopped Phoebe. It just felt natural to have Melinda there, in the nursery among them. It was probably because she looked so much like the deceased older Haliwell sister but seeing her holding Wyatt and laughing with him almost brought a smile to Phoebe's face.

"So what's the potion?" Paige asked crossing her arms over her chest.

"Power enforcing," Melinda said and her youngest aunt raised her eyebrows.

"There's no such thing."

"I know, I invented it."

"What for?" Phoebe frowned.

"For my charge," Melinda said feeling a pinch in her heart as she thought of Anwen "She has no powers and I needed to enhance her defences against him."

"Who is 'him'?" Piper asked and Melinda smirked "Oh, I know, future consequences!"

"Unfortunately...Here," she said handing Wyatt over to her "I should better get going, I need to take a bath and eat something..."

"Where are you gonna go?" Phoebe asked genuinely interested. Melinda halted at the frame of the door as she thought about that.

"I don't know...I hadn't thought of that," she muttered mostly to herself.

"You can stay here," Paige offered and earned a glare from Piper "What? I can sleep with you and she can take my room."

"She won't stay in the house."

"Oh c'mon Piper, we can't sent her to the P3, the room is already too small for Chris alone, they're gonna suffocate in there," Paige said reasonably to her older sister.

"Paige, I understand all that, but she can't stay in the house."

"Piper, she's a Whitelighter," the youngest sister said with an exasperated look "Just like Leo and Wyatt! She won't hurt anyone, will you?" she asked and Melinda shook her head no.

"Still Paige..." Piper insisted.

"I say we vote," Paige said quickly. Piper rolled her eyes but didn't protest "All those against Melinda staying?" she said and Piper's hand shot up, making Melinda flinch. She had to remind herself that this was not her mother "All those in favour?" her own hand rose and so did Wyatt's although his reasons were not explained. Phoebe also raised her hand after a small hesitation.

"Phoebe!" Piper yelped betrayed.

"I'm sorry Piper but I really think it's the best solution. I mean she is a Whitelighter, and she has a knack at making potions, even inventing new ones. Wyatt trusts her and I didn't pick up anything evil," Phoebe said tilting her head on the side. Piper huffed and shut her eyes.

"Fine she can stay," she gave in and Paige smiled "You can stay," she repeated looking at the girl "Paige's room is down the hall, go take a bath and relax. At two we serve lunch," she said before exiting the room muttering something only Wyatt could hear.

Melinda heard a soft knock on her door and she shifted under the comforter. She hugged her pillow tighter in her embrace and hummed. Chris opened the door slowly, balancing the trey in one hand and stepped inside Paige's room. The lump on the bed moved and a black mane of straight silky black hair became visible.

"Melinda," he said, putting the tray on her night-table "Melinda, wake up."

"In a minute."

"Wake up, we need to talk," he insisted. Feeling bold he sat at the edge of her bed and shook her shoulder.  
Melinda groaned and opened her eyes blinking to shoo the lingering sleep away. She yawned and stretched her hands. With the corner of her eye she noticed the tray and flashed a smile to Chris.

"Well, aren't you the perfect, caring boyfriend?" she asked teasingly and grabbed the tray.

"You lost lunch...and dinner," he explained and his lips quirked into a smirk at her astonished expression.

"Dinner too?"

"Yeah, the sisters were kinda worried, Phoebe practically ordered me to bring this up to you," he said motioning towards the food.

"Remind me to thank her, because I'm starving!" Melinda exclaimed downing a mouthful of potatoes. Chris allowed her a couple of silent minutes before engaging once again into a difficult conversation.

"You referred to incest before, does that mean...?"

"You are my brother? Yes," Melinda said refusing to look at him.

"But I don't have a sister."

"Maybe mom never got pregnant in your time line, maybe she gave me up for adoption..."

"She'd never do that," Chris cut her off. Melinda swallowed and looked up at him, green eyes to green. She had been thinking about it before she fell asleep. Melinda wasn't exactly a love child; her conception and birth had been rather difficult, it wouldn't be so weird if Piper had given her up for adoption.

"She might have had her reasons," she said and Chris frowned.

"What reasons?"

"Can't tell, future consequences," she said and he rolled his eyes.

"Actually past consequences 'cause it might have already happen, if she were pregnant, though..." he stopped and frowned "I don't remember her to be..."

"Perception potion? An illusion charm? If she didn't intend to keep me then why should anyone know about my existence?" Melinda asked shrugging.

"What reasons?" Chris asked again and she sighed.

"I can't tell."

"C'mon, obviously you are from another time line, or even dimension, so it might not happen that way..."

"A parallel dimension, so it will probably happen exactly like that," she countered. Chris sighed and leaned on his hands, backing away from her "So what are you doing here?"

"Uh-huh, I'm doing the questioning."

"Yeah right, what are you doing here Chrissie?" she asked and he cringed shutting his eyes.

"Why does that nickname keep coming back?" he whispered to himself and Melinda chuckled.

"Wyatt called you that in order to piss you off," she said smiling and Chris nodded, chuckling humourlessly.

"And then when it didn't work anymore, he started killing people," Melinda chuckled, thinking that he was joking. But when his face remained grim her eyes widened.

"Wyatt, killing people?"

"What? You didn't know?" he asked surprised and then smacked his palm over his head "I shouldn't have said it!"

"No it's okay it's just...Wow, Wyatt? Are you sure?"

"Would I just speculate with something like that?" he asked angrily and she grimaced.

"It makes sense if you really think about it; like father, like son..."


	3. Chapter 3

**Disclaimer**: I don't own the series Charmed or any of the original characters.

**A/N**: Wow it took me a lot of time to upload this chapter...And that's mainly because I don't know how I feel about it...Anyway, here it is! Oh, and I should not forget to thank so very much my first reviewer **Peanut-4ever** it means so much to know that someone is reading and enjoying this story! Thank you! I hope everyone is not too much OOC

* * *

"What are you saying Mel?" he asked and Melinda smiled faintly at the sound of the pet name Chris always used for her.

"I'm saying that over there, back home, Leo is the big bad wolf."

"Dad?" Chris asked raising his eyebrows. Melinda scowled.

"Leo." she repeated. Chris frowned and shook his head.

"No, no, you must be making some mistake," he said pinning in her eyes. Melinda gave him a sad smile.

"I wish I was. I'm sorry Chris." she spoke and Chris scoffed.

"What for? I hardly even know the guy," he said bitterly.

"That's not true." Melinda countered "I remember how you idolised him, craved for his attention, but there was always Wyatt and then there was...me," she grimaced and shrugged. Chris chuckled beside himself "What's so funny?"

"I guess you cannot be a true Haliwell without some daddy issues."

"I guess not." Melinda though didn't smile.

She lowered her head and pushed her food around with her fork. She could feel Chris eyes on her, almost hear the questions roaming around in his head. She wordlessly thanked him for giving her a silent moment; Chris knew when he should or shouldn't press her.

"So what are you doing here Chris?" she asked swallowing past the lamp that threatened to rise on her throat.

"I can't tell you that."

"Yes you can, you kind of did already, please." she added the last word as an afterthought, raising her gaze to him. Chris sighed and brushed his face with his hands.

"If I tell you." he said looking her straight in the eyes "Then you'll have to tell me, everything."

"I will, I promise." she hurried to say. Chris looked at his hands.

"I think it all started after mom died, the killing did at least." he started and Melinda wanted to reach for his hand but she held back "Aunt Phoebe moved back into the manor to take care of us, she brought Coop and the girls too." he said with a small smile. Melinda squinted.

"Coop?" she asked and Chris's eyes found hers.

"Uncle Cupid, Phoebe's husband?" Melinda's eyebrows reached her hairline. Uncle Cup? What about her Uncle? Why would Phoebe ever marry someone else?

"Oh my...Phoebe married Cupid?"

"Yeah," Chris said and Melinda could hear the 'duh' in his tone "Why? Who did she married in your time line?"

"Later about me, continue." she urged him. Chris gazed at her for a long second before continuing.

"Paige had a different approach; she stopped coming over. She called, at least twice a day but never stopped by anymore. Before everything changed she used to come every day and she usually brought Henry Jr.," Melinda's eyebrows rose again but she knew better this time and didn't interrupt him "Leo didn't stop coming but his visits were rarer and lasted less. Once a demon attacked and we were able to vanquish him but Phoebe had gotten hurt, we were calling him for hours before he decided to appear..."

"Typical Leo," Melinda scoffed.

"Yeah...Wyatt clustered up to himself. Grandpa was living with us; Wyatt was still underage so he couldn't be my legal guardian. Wyatt would lock his door and I'd hear loud noises and explosions but when I asked he'd tell me to mind my business. He started hanging out with the wrong crowd in school, and his grades dropped. His behaviour changed; Wyatt always had tendencies towards anger and violence but I had never truly seen him either angry or malicious that was of course before Piper died."

"Mom." Melinda corrected him swallowing. Chris frowned at her.

"What?"

"Before mom died." Melinda repeated his words "You said Piper."

"Ugh..yeah." Chris ran a hand through his hair and turned his eyes on the comforter avoiding Melinda's gaze "I had to adjust my vocabulary, coming here and all..."

"I get it." she said and chopped off a bit of her steak "Continue." she added before plopping it in her mouth and started chewing.

"When she died...I was fourteen, Wyatt was sixteen, he'd already started acting out but nothing really major. We were alone in the Manor, Wyatt was out with some friends, Phoebe and Paige had moved out by then and Leo," he stopped and took a deep breath "Well he was an Elder," he murmured like that was enough of an explanation "We were in the kitchen, she wanted to cheer me up by making cookies. I was so out of it that I didn't even sense the demons," Chris said bitterly "They didn't play fair, they were low level demons they shouldn't carry athames. But they did, at least one of them did...He was aiming for me, but she got in the middle and..."

"Oh Chris," Melinda whispered and pushing the tray away she reached for his hands.

"I tried to heal her but...I kept calling Leo's name, but he wouldn't come! I didn't think of calling Wyatt, I was so stupid!" he said vehemently.

"Chris it wasn't your fault," Melinda told him knowing that it would fall in deaf ears, once Chris blamed himself it was a done deal; nothing could or would change his mind.

"When he finally turned up he gave me some crap assed reason about not being as connected to her because of the divorce. I tried to use my powers on him, several times," Chris chuckled to himself and Melinda noticed the tears in her brother's eyes "I knew it would get me nowhere but at least I vented it out. I don't know how Phoebe and Paige reacted; I was already gone by the time they came over. But when I returned home that night..." Chris shook his head and his eyes pinned in hers "Wyatt had gone ballistic. He'd practically wrecked the house. I found Leo in the conservatory, trapped in the crystals."

"Please, please tell me you left him there." Melinda begged and Chris tilted his head on the side.

"I was tempted. I was also tempted to strip him from his powers and then kill him, I was surprised that Wyatt hadn't tried that already. But...I thought of mom's face, her reaction if I ever did something like that and I just couldn't. It was the first time in a long while that Leo was interested to have a conversation with me but I couldn't care less. I guess after that everything...escalated. Phoebe tried to approach Wyatt but it was impossible, he'd even stopped talking to me. Then one of his charges died, when he was eighteen, he took it to the heart. Paige tried to console him, Leo talked to him, I took him out for beers..."

"You don't drink," Melinda cut in confused. Chris nodded.

"He practically had to carry me back home, after two beers I was a goner. It happened right under my nose, before my eyes and I couldn't stop it. By the time I figured out that the murdered witches were his victims it was too late."

"I still can't believe that Wyatt turned Evil."

"He is basically the source of all evil. And what with him being twice blessed, the heir of the Excalibur and the first born male Haliwell I'd say he's worst than the Source."

"Chris," she said his name softly. Chris wasn't used at people being gentle with him, so he looked up at her surprised "I know you won't believe me, and it won't really change anything, but mom dying, it wasn't your fault."

"Yeah...So, what about your story?" Chris deflected, not that Melinda expected anything else. She just wished she wasn't the one telling him her story.

"My story could be considered similar to yours." she started and taking her pillow in her lap, she snuggled on it "I, Melinda Prudence Haliwell was not a love child, I was the result of a one night stand." she said and Chris's eyes went wide before he cringed.

"Too much information."

"Sorry about that. But it's the truth, that's why I guess in your time line mom might have given me up for adoption..."

"I don't believe she'd ever do that." Chris said with conviction.

"You were two when I was born, Wyatt was only five, and Aunt Paige was pregnant," Melinda stopped and looked at the photograph resting on Paige's nightstand; it showed the three sisters smiling "Man, our time lines are so different, it's not even funny," she said shaking her head.

"How different?" Chris asked and she bit on her lip fighting with herself about whether she should tell him or not.

"I can't really tell you."

"Yes, you can, and you will."

"No Chris..." she trailed off and backed away from him. She couldn't give him the answers he wanted. At least not now "I can't, I know that I promised but...maybe in the future... I can tell you some things, but not everything." she said hoping he'd understand "So I was conceived by mistake...But mom was kind of over the moon with me being a girl so it stunk less I guess. Still she always had a soft spot on you..."

"Nah, Wyatt was her favourite."

"No, Leo played favourites. Mom just had a unique way of showing her love towards her golden boy," Melinda said with a fond smile "Apart from Leo being practically absent from our lives, I think we had a fairly great childhood. I never understood why he was so cold towards you, it was obvious that he loved Wyatt more than both of us, but he still indulged me, sometimes," she added with an eye roll "I would call him out on it, but he would just dismiss me. The common denominator in both stories is...mom's death. I was thirteen, I was at school I don't know what happened, and no one ever told me all the details, I doubt that anyone other than mom knew all the details...all I know is that there was an attack and Leo was there but we don't know how she died..."

"No, he didn't..." Chris trailed off in horror.

"We don't know. The Manor was turned into a battlefield. I can't even remember coming home from school that day. Things were already kind of rocky with the Elders they were not very pleased with the decisions our mother and aunts made, and they showed it. Leo had gained power over them, and he was pissed with the sisters because they accused him about mom's death. Wyatt refused to see him after she was gone; I think that was the final push he needed. Maybe all this power got to his head? It consumed him? It's possible...Leo took down all the Elders that were foolish enough to go against him. He brought havoc in the underworld terrorising the demons and creating an army of those he considered most loyal. He banned Paige and Phoebe from the Manor, but he kept us there," she stopped and looked at her hands with a resentful glare "In a tight leash too. Leaving home is out of the question and we can only orb to our charges if they're in danger. Leo..."

Melinda stopped immediately when she heard the tap on the door. Chris's head whipped around and she took a deep breath willing herself to stay calm.  
"Come in," she said and the door cracked open.

Paige didn't know what got into her. What was she doing outside her room? No wait that sounded stupid...Why was she checking up on Melinda? And why did it take her so long to find the nerve and knock on the damn door?

"Hey," she said lamely. Chris gave her a nod but the newcomer, Melinda, just looked at her. Paige clasped her hands together feeling rather uncomfortable

"We missed you at lunch," she said and Melinda smiled.

"Yeah, sorry about that. I hadn't had a good night's sleep in days," Melinda explained herself.

"People don't sleep in the future?" Paige asked narrowing her eyes a little.

"Ugh, not so much, it's kind of a privilege." Melinda replied. Paige nodded her head and her eyes fell on the disregarded tray.

"You know, Piper might be a good witch and all but she will kill you if you get her sheets dirty."

"Oh this? No problem." Melinda chirped and before she realised what she was going to do she flickered her hand and the tray orbed downstairs in the kitchen.

"We don't use our powers for personal gain in this house," Paige said crossing her arms. It was weird to see that strange teenage girl using her power.

"Well in that case, is there any chance you didn't see that?" she asked and inappropriate as it might have been at the moment Paige chuckled.

"No chance in hell missy, but," she stopped and crossed her arms over her chest "I'm not here to talk about your powers. I just wanted to see how you are doing."

"I'm fine," Melinda said her eyes momentarily flying over to Chris.

"Good, this is..Good. And just to give you the heads up, tomorrow there will be a lot of questioning and a hell lot of distrust."

"Ugh..Thanks?" Melinda said not sure what she should say. Paige gave her a pleased smile and turned to leave "Why are you telling me this?" Melinda asked and her aunt looked at her over her shoulder.

"Maybe I like you," Paige said and Chris' eyebrows shot to his hairline "Maybe I just feel sorry for what you'll have to go through. Good night."

"Well...that was reassuring," Melinda said feeling a little sick in her stomach.

"You didn't finish your story."

"Oh man! Chris, focus on the bigger picture! We have to find a way to send me back in my time line."

"We will," Chris reassured her but Melinda shook her head.

"No, no, you don't understand! If I'm not back soon, and he realises I'm gone...I don't know what he'll do Chris, and I don't want to find out," Melinda said fear slowly but steadily creeping up on her.

"Hey, hey calm down," Chris said taking a hold of her hands. He scooted closer to her and pinned in her eyes "Nothing is going to happen okay? We'll get you back in your time line..." Chris stopped his forehead furrowing.

"What? What is it? Christopher, I know this look," she said hoping that the use of his full name would catch his attention, and it did.

"If...if you're just from a different time line, if you are real and you say who you say you are..."

"Oh my God seriously you still don't believe me? When you were one Wyatt gave you a pebble while playing, without mom knowing and you swallowed it. When you were four Wyatt said he'd admit you were better than him if you managed to stand on a basketball and of course you fell and thank God Aunt Paige was there or you might have bled to death till Leo decided to come. I was five, and you were eight when Wyatt broke his arm while we played orb and go seek because he tripped on his shoelaces and fell down the stairs. Do you want me to go on? Because I can," Melinda said crossing her arms over her chest.

"You are my sister, but you are from another time line...Which means that in my time line, Melinda is somewhere out there, waiting to be killed by her big brother."

"Not much worse than getting killed by your father," Melinda deadpanned "Although she's luckier because she doesn't know that Wyatt is her brother."

"If you help me with Wyatt, maybe she won't have to face either," Chris said. Melinda shook her head.

"But Wyatt isn't evil in my time line."

"And Leo isn't the over-ruler in mine. But maybe if we do this together, if we save Wyatt together maybe things will change."

"I don't know Chris, it sounds a bit farfetched," she said sighing.

"Yeah...Anyway I'm off, I'll let you sleep and, I'll stick around tomorrow, make sure they don't grill you too much."

"Thanks big brother," Melinda said teasingly. Chris felt the corners of his lips twirling upwards. He had years to be called by that name in a not threatening way.

"Anything for you, sis," he said and winked before orbing away. The words felt weird in his mouth. Orbing back in his room in the P3 he dropped himself on his bed and sighed covering his face with his hands. At least he couldn't complain about being bored.


	4. Chapter 4

**Disclaimer: I don't own the series Charmed or any of the original characters. **

**A/N: This chapter is way too short, but I'll probably upload again later today. Anyway enjoy!**

* * *

My heart beat fast as I round the corner to the house. It is clearly a suicide mission. If Melinda knew what I am about to do...But I have to see her! The way she disappeared, and her not answering my calls...I am just really worried! She has to understand!

It is morning but you can never be too precautious these days. I slam my back on the wall, or what is left of it, and popping my head around the corner I inspect the street. It's empty, at least it looks empty, it's possible that some demon is waiting for me, invisible, and all. Still I cannot worry about it now.

"C'mon Anwen you can do this!" I hiss to myself and march towards the huge manor, the only house in the vicinity that is not burnt down to its core.

I was Melinda's best friend long before I became her charge. Never, not in a million years would I believe back then, in kindergarten when I met her, that seeing the manor would make my skin crawl with fear and disgust. The black smokes from the burning cars and the burnt down houses that seem to engulf the area around the house doesn't help.

I find myself in front of the door and I'm at total loss of what I should do. Do I knock? And then what? Expect a demon to open and say I came over to see if Melinda is sick? Or better yet, her father himself comes to answer and I die on the spot. Yes, yes I know that he doesn't allow his demons to kill the remaining Whitelighters or their charges, but no one is allowed to get inside the Manor.

As I battle with myself and my stupidity, the door swiftly opens and someone pulls me in. I am about to start screaming when I see Chris' eyes begging with me to be quiet, his hand pressed against my mouth. I nod my head and he lowers his hand and motions for me to go to the kitchen. I'm about to speak, but he shakes his head sternly and pushes me down the corridor. And so I give in.

The first thing I notice when in the kitchen is how drastically the room has changed since Melinda's mom died. It doesn't feel like a kitchen anymore, there's such an order, it's so clean, it's just different. The next thing I notice is that the door to the basement is open. I look at Chris with raised eyebrows and he motions for me to go down. A little apprehensive and remembering all of Melinda's stories about the bogeyman I do.

"What are you doing here? What is she doing here?" Wyatt demands looking at his brother. Chris who is still at the top of the stairs locking the door and proofing it with a spell shrugs.

"How should I know?" he responds taking the steps two at a time as Wyatt wrecks his hands through his hair.

"Why would I be here?" I say rolling my eyes at them. And seriously they're supposed to be the greatest witches of all time. These two! "For Melinda of course! Is she upstairs in her room?" I ask looking at the ceiling. Wyatt jumps up from the chair he is sitting on, and the look he shares with Chris makes my insides turn.

"Wy..." Chris starts and the elder brother nods.

"I'm on it," he says and moving to the furthest end of the room he closes his eyes and concentrates. It takes me a minute to realise but the room is morphed into an office of kind with maps and papers lying all around. So these were the headquarters of the infamous Resistance? Inside the Manor itself? Pretty sneaky.

"Anwen, hey Anwen," Chris says snapping his fingers in front of my face. I shake my head a little and focus on him "When did you last saw her?"

"We were together this morning..."

* * *

**A/N: I think I should point this out: this chapter was from Melinda's time line. **


	5. Chapter 5

**Disclaimer: I don't own the series Charmed or any of the original characters. **

**A/N: I was kind peeved with the fact that Chris apparently had only one power in the show, so again, I took some liberties , I hope you don't mind. **

* * *

By the time Chris arrived at the Manor, Melinda's nerves were practically off the charts. It was only nine in the morning and she'd answered more than sixty questions about her relationship with Chris, the sisters and Wyatt, she had been tested on her ability to make potions and she had been scrutinized by Piper while doing so. She need it that much for her nerves to snap. When Chris orbed in he found Melinda sitting in the living room a pad and a pen in her lap, frowning, concentrating hard. He took a moment to look at her; she did definitely look like a Haliwell, much more than Wyatt. And she resembled his aunt Prue quite a lot.

"Mmm, I don't think that 'trouble' matches with 'asshole'," he murmured bending a little to see what she was scribbling. Melinda jumped on her seat dropping the notepad down.

"Then you do it!" she yelled gathering her wits rather quickly. Chris gave her a smirk and folded his arms.

"I see they got to you," he said feeling rather smug. Okay so the sisters drove him crazy but at least Melinda wasn't doing any better.

"Quit being smug, we got a problem," she said and Chris frowned instantly.

"What problem?"

"I told them we are related," she said swallowing hard and Chris' jaw dropped to the floor.  
"What? Why would you do that?"

"Because!" Melinda exploded throwing her hands up in the air causing the chandelier to blow up "They started asking personal questions, intimate questions...and I nearly gagged," she said and Chris flinched.

"Melinda?" came Phoebe's voice and they both heard her coming down the stairs "Is everything alright I heard..." Phoebe halted midway and her eyes widened as she saw the destroyed chandelier and the glasses all around Melinda "A noise," she continued murmuring and got down the last steps "What happened?"  
"A little accident," Melinda said grimacing. Phoebe froze again; this girl really looked like her eldest sister. It wasn't just the general characteristics but the facial expressions too. It was too much for her.

"Phoebe, are you okay?" Chris asked taking a step towards her. Phoebe's hand came to her forehead and she took a small shaky breath.

"Yeah, yeah, I'm okay." She lied through her teeth. She could see that her new Whitelighter didn't really buy it but she was thankful that he didn't question her any further "So Melinda told us the truth." She changed the subject.

"Truth, what truth?" he asked, his voice steady, but with an uneasy undertone just as Melinda plopped down to the couch.

"That you two are cousins," Phoebe said, and he sighed relieved "Why didn't you tell us sooner?"

"Because, she wasn't supposed to be here," Chris said with conviction looking back at his sister. _Sister? _He frowned at the word. He shook his head a little to clear his thoughts, this was not the right time.

"Yes about that, how did you end up here in the first place?" Phoebe asked narrowing her eyes.

"I told you already!" Melinda huffed and her head rolled back on the couch "I don't really know. I wasn't trying to. One minute I was with Anwen...fighting a Grimlock and the next," she snapped her fingers and then threw her arms up again this time minding to not blow up anything. She was lucky that Phoebe didn't question what kind of an accident blew up the chandelier.

"And you have no idea whatsoever about how this happened?" she questioned instead trying to get a hold of Melinda's feelings. But aside from nervousness there was nothing there.

"I told you no...And where are you going?" Melinda asked noticing her aunt's outfit. As Phoebe looked down at herself Chris would've sworn she blushed.

"I am going out," she said evasively and headed towards the hallway. Melinda stood up and followed suit.

"Really? Don't say," she said sarcastically. Another thing aside from her eye colour that she shared with Chris.

"I have a date, with Jason...And why am I explaining myself to a teenager?" she mumbled to herself as she searched for something in her purse.

"Hey I am not a teenager!" Melinda exclaimed the same time that Chris said,

"Date? What about demons? What about Wyatt?"

"Well Chris the demons won't go away," Phoebe said turning to look sharply at him "And Wyatt is perfectly safe in his playpen where he fell asleep..."

"I meant future Wyatt," _evil Wyatt, _he mentally added.

"I know what you meant. And all I have to say is; Rome wasn't built in a day!" Chris frowned,

"That doesn't even make sense!" he cried out.

"As for you missy, if it looks young, speaks young, and acts young; it's young," she said with a condescending smile before walking out the door.

"If she just knew what I've been through," Melinda muttered to herself shaking her head.

"You never did finish that story," Chris reminded her. Melinda took a deep breath.

"I could, if you want me to, but there are a **lot** of skeletons," she warned.

"I'm sure I can handle it."

"Yeah...I just wish I was able to handle it," she said and rolled her eyes "Let's go back to the living room and..."

"Melinda," this time it was Paige's voice. And it was coming from the attic. Melinda raised her eyebrows and looked at the ceiling.

"Ugh, yeah?"

"Come up here, I need your help with something."

"They trust you around the book already?" Chris demanded and Melinda tried not to laugh at his affronted expression "Oh man, that's just great!"

"C'mon, let's go help," she said, and before he could protest she grabbed his arm and orbed them in the attic "You called?" she asked looking over at where Paige was standing before the book.

"I did, hi Chris," she said with a small wave. Chris waved back and stuffed his hands in the pockets of his jeans.

"What do you want?" he asked and she cocked her head on the side a little.

"Help, to scry for the demon you keep talking about. Or the rumours you heard about him, I don't know...Sometimes you murmur a lot," she said with a small nod.

"Cute," Chris said with a grimace but nonetheless he walked towards the table where the map and the magic crystal lied. Melinda clapped her hands.

"What can I do?" she asked and Paige looked up from her potion.

"You can either help me, but there's not much to do, or you could write a spell."

"Okay, but what am I supposed to write about?"

"I don't really know," Paige said her tone sarcastic "You see your cousin doesn't like sharing his info."

"Just...try something generic, concentrating on the power of three," Chris instructed and she nodded. She stretched out her hand and thought of her dropped notepad and the pen, the objects instantly appearing in her hands.

"Okay even if I hadn't noticed this last night, I surely did now," Paige pointed out, and Chris' eyes snapped to her face "You have my power...Although you don't have to speak the words out loud?" she asked.

"Told you before; it's not a witch power! It's a Whitelighter thing." Melinda said, sensing she was about to snap.

"Hmm, maybe I'll have to side with Phoebe on that power list," Paige said before returning to her potion.

"What power list?" Chris asked.

"They want a complete list with my powers, for some reason they don't believe that I'm just a Whitelighter," she said snidely and Chris smiled "Oh don't you dare look so smug," she hissed at him. Although he smiled Chris knew that this was a potential disaster. If Melinda did go through with this list, and she would if the sisters insisted, then the possibility of her identity coming out was very real.

Once she had come up with a somewhat satisfying spell, and Paige had cooked her potion while reminding them that she didn't know what she was making it for, Chris left to go find Piper, who was at the P3. Melinda let the pad next to her, on Aunt Pearl's couch, and stood up. She rubbed her hands on her jeans and looked at the redhead woman that stood before the book. She could still remember how worried her Aunt Paige looked when she left to go find Anwen the previous morning. Melinda sucked in a deep breath, a move that attracted Paige's attention.

"What?" the older witch asked eyeing her suspiciously. Melinda worried her lip battling with herself "Hey," Paige shut the book and walked closer to the girl giving her a smile "I know that we just met, but I want you to know that you can trust me," she said her Whitelighter side kicking in. Melinda knew that she had to talk to someone. She had Chris, yeah she knew that. But Chris' relationship with the sisters wasn't the best and she needed an ally. Or at least she needed to make herself believe she had an ally.

"Yeah...I can trust you but you don't trust me, and your sisters don't trust me...I get that. But...I came here by mistake. And I have to go back, I have to! I don't know what is going to happen if I don't..." Melinda mumbled in one breath.

"Wow, you talk fast," Paige said but one look in Melinda's face and all joking was forgotten "We can help you," she said reaching out for her, Melinda flinched.

"I know you can," she said and looked at her shoes afraid that if she looked at her Aunt's eyes she'd break "But I can't let you do that." If by any chance Leo was there when she went back, if he realised that she'd used a Power of Three spell to get back, she didn't know how he'd react. To say that she was afraid would be an understatement. Paige seeing how quick the girl's expression changed felt confused. One minute Melinda was angry at the world and then next she was as afraid as she felt the first time she came face to face with a demon. It didn't make any sense to her.

Melinda first sensed Wyatt's discomfort and then heard him cry. Her head snapped around towards the door of the attic. Paige was already moving to get to him.

"No, I'll go," she said and her Aunt stopped looking at her confused "Chris will be back any minute now and you have to go vanquish that demon...I'll go," she repeated her previous words.

"Are you sure you want to spent your day baby-sitting?" Paige asked with a small grimace. She loved her little nephew dearly, but the kid's lungs were a force to be reckoned.

"I don't mind," Melinda reassured her before orbing to Wyatt's room.

"Hey big brother," she cooed and at once Wyatt stopped "You like that tone of voice don't ya?" she asked smiling and Wyatt extended his chubby little arms towards her "You know in the future, when I use this tone you always give me such a hard time," she said picking him up. Wyatt looked deep into her eyes his hands taking hold of her hair. What is it with babies and hair?" she asked out loud sitting herself on the rocking chair by the window "Now why did you start hollering like you did Wy?" she asked and her brother blinked innocently at her "Uh-huh, you don't fool me mister," she said pocking his nose. Wyatt giggled "So I hear you turn evil in the future?" she asked her eyes getting wide, and sure enough Wyatt's eyes followed "That's not cool dude! And torturing Chris is not cool either," she said to the baby who looked at her as if he understood her words "Oh, Wy, if you just knew how much Chris is looking up to you," she went on with a small sigh "Not that I blame you for liking me more, we both know that I'm adorable," she said in a sing sang voice and Wyatt again started giggling "You know you're an ass kick big brother, right?" she asked leaning forward to kiss his temple. Wyatt settled against her, his head underneath her chin "And I miss you Wyatt...and I miss Chris, and Patty, and Penny...gosh," Melinda shut her eyes while stroking the baby's hair "I just wish they're alright, I just wish he didn't kill them..."

"Hey," Phoebe's voice was soft yet Melinda jumped in her seat, worrying Wyatt who started fussing. She stroke small circles on his back trying to calm him down as she looked at her Aunt.

"Hi," she said back "Weren't you out, on a date?" she asked. Phoebe walked in the room and leaned against Wyatt's wardrobe looking at her blonde nephew.

"Jason had to leave, some kind of emergency," she said without realising how bitter she sounded.

"Ugh, that sucks," Melinda spoke freely and Phoebe chuckled.

"Tell me about it," she whispered. Melinda smiled and looked down at Wyatt who looked ready to doze off "You sounded worried," Phoebe said. Fear and guilt rose within Melinda and the girl tried to calm herself down.

"That's because I am," she shrugged off the question. Phoebe raised her eyebrows but Melinda didn't continue.

"About whom?"

"My family."

"Are they in danger?"

"Where I come from," Melinda said picking her words carefully "Everyone is in danger."

Phoebe nodded and her eyes fell on Wyatt once again. The baby seemed rather comfortable in this stranger's arms ready to fall asleep. When Melinda smiled down at him, Phoebe saw it again; the resemblance. That was Prue right there; the way her nose wrinkled, the way her eyes shinned, the way the muscles tensed around her mouth.

"You seem so natural with him," Phoebe said just to take her mind out of the weird thoughts.

"Really? Thanks."

"Do you have any younger siblings?"

"Nice try Phoebe."

"Well I had to," Phoebe said shrugging.

"You already know that I'm related to Chris, and that's all you're gonna get out of me."

"Okay, ok, you can't blame a woman for trying," Phoebe exclaimed but Melinda could just see in her face that she wasn't angry. But peace and quiet in the Manor does not last for long. Something exploded downstairs and both women jumped on their feet "You stay here," Phoebe ordered.

"No way," Melinda shot back after placing the sleeping baby in his crib.

"Melinda this is not a request," Phoebe said harshly "It's an order."

"Order? Yeah, I don't do so well with orders," Melinda said before orbing to the living room.

The couch was on fire, and in the dining room the table was destroyed. Melinda looked precariously at the grandfather clock wondering when it would explode. Just then a fireball passed right beside her ear and she sprout into action. She noticed that Piper was trying to blow up an upper level demon and that Paige was dealing with two of his cronies. Chris was dealing with a low level demon but being unable to use his powers, in fear of blowing his cover, he couldn't really do much. Phoebe who had just come down the stairs was getting into a fist fight with a female demon. Which left two demons for her.

"Oh, you don't know how much I need this right now," she said smirking at them. She knew that she shouldn't, that Chris was being reasonable by just using his Whitelighter powers, but she couldn't stop herself. After all no one was as controlled as her "Mr. Perfect" big brother.

She flicked her hands and both of them were blown backwards crashing on the wall beneath the stairs. They fell down but instantly jumped up again advancing towards her. Melinda flicked one wrist to freeze the one closer to her. She grabbed an athame that was lying on the floor close to her feet and flung it towards the other one. Just before the impact he shot a fireball at her. Melinda jumped out of the way but that caused her freezing to frail and the demon started moving in slow motion. She flicked her hands again and he blew up in a million black pieces.

"Chris!" she yelled her brother's name when she saw an energy ball coming at him from the back. Chris orbed just in moment, the energy ball went straight through the blue particles and crashed on the demon that Chris was trying to vanquish. Melinda grabbed the athame and tossed it to her brother who was quick to finish the remaining demon.

"It's just one demon he says," Piper muttered snidely as she dusted herself off "The potion will work he says, well look how well that went!"

"Hey, it's not my fault that Paige orbed you right in the middle of the hive!" Chris defended himself.

"Uh! Excuse me, so it's my fault?" Paige questioned taken aback. Chris crossed his arms over his chest "You were the one who did the scrying!"

"And she was the one who wrote the spell," Chris said moving his eyes to Melinda.

"Hey! You said to make it a power of three spell how did you expect it to work if you only had the power of two?" Melinda yelled back at him.

"Okay people, let's calm down," Phoebe said her hand rubbing her temples "All this frustration is taking its toll on me." Melinda looked at Chris for any sign of discomfort but there was none. Of course Chris had mastered his empathy a long while ago but nonetheless Melinda felt the urge to check.

"Well at least no one got hurt," Melinda said and saw that the grandfather clock was still standing tall "And Wyatt didn't wake up," she added.

"Yeah, that's kinda weird, I'll go check on him," Piper said fearing that this could be another one of those situations where they got distracted by the bait until the head demon could take Wyatt away.

"Nice aim," Paige complimented her; Melinda gave her a nod of appreciation while assessing the situation around her. All this mess just wouldn't do.

"Let the object of objection become but a dream, as I cause the seen to be unseen," Melinda chanted and the jingling of her spell let her know that it was working.

"Huh," Paige exclaimed cocking her head on the side. Melinda raised her eyebrows questioningly "That was one of the very first spells I ever used."

"Ugh yeah? It was a common enough spell in our family..." Melinda trailed off sheepishly.

"I didn't know that Whitelighters can perform spells," Phoebe said suspiciously.

"We are magical beings you know," Melinda replied rather angrily, placing her hands on her hips. She was quite lucky that the commotion of the battle prevented them from noticing her powers.

"Mel, calm down," Chris admonished walking closer to her. Melinda huffed and folded her arms over her chest "Hey, you're bleeding," he said frowning his hand coming to rest over her arm.

"I am?" she asked surprised. She followed his gaze and saw the gush on her forearm "Damn, I didn't even feel that," she murmured.

"Can't you heal yourself?" Paige asked and Melinda shook her head a little "How come?"

"I'm a late bloomer," Melinda said almost bitterly "Besides, Whitelighters cannot heal themselves," she added as if an afterthought.

"Hmm, it seems to run in the family," Phoebe said and her eyes fell on Chris. Melinda confused looked at her brother.

"What is that...?"

"C'mon, let's get you cleaned up," Chris cut her off dragging her gently towards the stairs.

"We could always call Leo to heal you," Paige suggested.

"No," both Chris and Melinda said at the same time. Phoebe taken aback looked at her younger sister who just shrugged "C'mon, let's get you patched up," Chris said and Melinda started on the stairs.

"What is it with these two and Leo?" Paige wondered to herself.


	6. Chapter 6

**Disclaimer: I don't own the series Charmed or any of the original characters. **

"_What is it with these two and Leo?__"__ Paige wondered to herself.  
_

"Chris always had a problem with him..." Phoebe started.

"Well, to be fair, Leo had a problem with Chris from the start," Paige defended their Whitelighter. Phoebe looked at her sister.

"Whose side are you on?"

"Side? I don't pick sides! I won't pick one," she spoke.

"Yes but honey, Leo is family," Phoebe said walking closer to her sister. Paige gave a shrug and looked at her questioningly "And if he says that there's something going on with Chris..." she continued and Paige stopped her.

"Huh-uh, _**I**_ happen to trust Chris," Paige pressed her hand over her chest, her eyes pinned in Phoebe's "So _**I**_ don't want to listen any of it."

"What about Melinda?" Phoebe questioned.

"What about her? Did you get something off her?"

"Other than nervousness and some anger, a lot of it when Leo is around, no, nothing else," Phoebe muttered.

"Then I don't see why we can't trust her."

"She did handle herself pretty well during the battle, for a Whitelighter I mean."

"Hey," Paige cried affronted "I'm a Whitelighter, thank you very much!"

"Sweetie you are half a Whitelighter, and half a very powerful witch," Phoebe said smiling at her. Paige grimaced.

"Don't try to sugar-coat it."

* * *

For the third time Chris pushed Melinda's hands away from the gauze, glaring at her. "If you keep pocking at it, it will start bleeding again," he reminded her for the umpteenth time. Melinda sighed and rolled her eyes.

"Sorry, I just don't like it... I always had people to heal me back home. It was either Aunt Paige, or Wyatt, or you, or Uncle..." Melinda stopped and bit her tongue; she was so close at slipping up but there was something else that got Chris' attention.

"Me? I get my healing power?"

"Well yeah, and you got it damn lot faster than I did," Melinda said sourly.

"But when? How?"

"My seventeenth birthday; Leo forbade us from celebrating it but you and Wyatt were set on throwing me a huge ass party. He was gone from the Manor the whole day so we had no trouble at all. But he did come back earlier and he saw that you'd invited Bianca and..."

"No," Chris said his hands clenching into fists. Melinda's eyes moved to the tiles on the floor.

"He got really angry I'd never seen him like that. He knocked her out cold before we could react and when I started yelling at him, saying that he ruined my birthday and that he had to be the worst father ever he..." Melinda stopped and bit on her lip.

"Did he hurt you? Mel, tell me," Chris begged with her. She looked into his eyes and nodded.

"I was too upset to deflect his attack and I found myself flying across the yard. I tried to orb, lessen the fall, but I couldn't and I hit on the wall of the house. Wyatt went on full over-protective mode then, blowing Leo up and fussing all over me. You were able to heal Bianca," she said remembering why she started the story and Chris smiled at little. Melinda couldn't smile though, poor Bianca...if this Chris was to find out what happened to her later the same year he wouldn't be able to take it, Melinda knew that for sure. Her Chris could hardly keep himself from going into a total melt down.

"What about your healing power?" Chris asked and Melinda gave him another eye roll.

"Oh well I've never managed to even heal a scratch. I remember Leo using this as proof that I wasn't his."

"He did what?"

"Oh yeah, of course all that was nonsense since I could orb," Melinda said shaking her head.

"Man! From time line to time line he just keeps getting worse!" Chris cursed kicking the laundry box.

"I don't know how much worse it can get...back on topic though, I did heal Anwen."

"Your charge?"

"That's her...yeah after Leo went over the edge and murdered the majority of the Elders he put a ban at killing Whitelighters, Elders and their charges. Not even Darklighters come after us."

"That must be weird."

"It is, that's why we decided to start going after them. That was when Wyatt started working on the Resistance with some help from you and...Other family members," she finished lamely.

"Other family members?" Chris shot back his interest perking.

"Forget it, I already over-shared," Melinda said pushing away from where she was sitting on the bathtub. Chris sighed and rubbed his face with his hands.

"Right, I gotta go anyway," he murmured. Melinda frowned.

"Go? Where?" she asked and her brother looked at her.

"I got a new lead on who might turn Wyatt evil."

"Another lead? You had one just a few hours ago!" Melinda said and he just shrugged "And, back off a second, turn Wyatt evil? I thought you said Wyatt turned evil when mom died," she added confused.

"That's when he started acting on it. But as I said, Wyatt always had tendencies; he could hardly ever contain his anger..."

"Right, right, like that one time he set the gym on fire..."

"Because the coach wouldn't let him on the team," Chris finished her sentence and Melinda flashed him a grin "I think that mom was his moral compass, and when she died...He drifted off, he lost his centre. For a while I managed to keep him on track, but by the time he reached eighteen he was a goner."

"Hmm," Melinda grunted thinking how close she'd been at losing Wyatt. Thankfully the only moral centre that Wyatt needed in her time line was Chris, and all that Chris could think about after their mother's death was how to keep Melinda alive and avenge the death that orphaned them "You want me to come with?" she asked after a second "I could be helpful."

"Or you could be a liability."

"I'm not a kid anymore Chris!" Melinda said defensively forgetting that this Chris had never called her a liability before. Her cheeks blushed red but Chris ignored it "Beside I can handle myself in a battle, you saw that!" she added.

"Okay, I'll take you," Chris gave in "Mainly because I don't want to come back and find out that you revealed yet another thing about our identities..."

"Smartass," Melinda said under her breath. Chris paused for a second before continuing.

"But you'll follow my lead, agreed? If I say jump you'll ask how high, and if I say duck you'll say..."

"Fuck off?" she asked innocently knowing perfectly well how Chris felt about cussing. Without another word to her Chris orbed out "Oh, real mature big brother!" Melinda yelled after him hurrying to catch up.

Landing rather unceremoniously on a rock Melinda lost her footing and fell on to Chris who in his turn landed on his back at the dusty ground of a cavern with a low thud. Melinda wanted to moan but she pressed her lips together and swallowed through her pain as she moved off of her brother. Chris gave her an exasperated look.

"Sorry," she mouthed with a sheepish smile that reminded him of Phoebe. He dusted his hands off and looked from around the rock they'd orbed behind. Melinda joined him. At the hollow of the cavern something that looked like a workshop was set up. There was a cauldron there, several vials with potions, herbs, torn pages and a bunch of pendants. Melinda saw the back of a figure as he rested against the table, his head lowered.

"A shape-shifter?" she guessed correctly and Chris gave her a nod "I'm not sure I get it..." she trailed off.

"Wyatt might be the twice-blessed wielder of the Excalibur," _again with that comment about Excalibur_, Melinda thought to herself but didn't interrupt him "But he's still a baby, a baby whose father is rather absent and his mom...Well his mom is not always around," Chris said and Melinda nodded "What better way to turn him other than taking the face of his father? Or his mother's for that matter? Five minutes a day could do the trick..."

"Considering that the sisters don't find out about it."

"How could they? Think about it; what if he comes when they're sleeping and Wyatt has a restless night? Or when mom is in the shower and the Aunts are off to their jobs? What if he takes Leo's face during a demon attack?"

"Okay but...should we kill every shape shifter in the Underworld?" Melinda asked. She didn't want to question their powers but taking on the Underworld without Wyatt's help was a task that scared her. Chris gave her a smirk.

"Just the strongest one of them. And then we could spread the word around."

"Oh I see...You don't want to mess with the Haliwells."

"Something like that," Chris shifted and raise his eyebrows "Are you ready?"

"Probably not," she said but nonetheless jumped up when he did.

"And I wondered when you two would come forward," the figure spoke without turning to look at them. Melinda panicking looked at Chris who motioned for her to calm down.

"Hey it's not my fault that some of your friends told me that you liked surprises," Chris said casually.

"My friends would prefer to die than speak a word to a Whitelighter," the figure snarled still not facing them.

"Tsk, you see that's what the first two said...But I guess the third one was the stupidest, thinking that I'd spare him because he told me where I'd find your lair," Melinda noticed that the Shape-shifter's back tensed "Not bad by the way...but some cleaning would do the place justice."

The demon whirled around quickly, but Chris had seen it coming. What he didn't expect was the crossbow in his hands, or the fact that the arrow would fly straight towards Melinda's chest. He was struck by the overwhelming thought of losing the sister he just found out, to even consider of helping her out. The arrow that headed her way made Melinda snap out of her panicky situation. For the last five years she was trying to stay alive in a world where her father was the Source of All Evil, and now she was cowering before some lame ass shape-shifter? She flicked her hand and the arrow froze midair. Relishing a little on the demon's dumbstruck expression Melinda lifted her other hand and blew up a shelf behind his head. He ducked to take cover from the pieces of wood and glass that rained over him.

"Now that's not a nice way to greet someone," Melinda said sarcasm dripping off her every word.

"A Whitelighter that's also a witch? That's new," the demon countered and Chris sent another shelf towards him with the move of his index.

"Actually, it kind of runs in the family," he said as the demon ducked again to avoid the hit.

Melinda noticed that the roof of the cave was licking. Were they undersea? Or maybe under a sewer? In an impulse she decided she wanted to know. She flicked her hands and the ground shuttered as a jet of water fell with force on the demon who screamed surprised. Chris chuckled as he watched Melinda enjoying herself. He had forgotten how fun demon hunting could be when he didn't have his family second guessing each and every one of his moves. Lowering his mental barriers he tapped into Melinda's powers and froze the streaming water.

"You know I hate it when you do that," Melinda said grimacing as she shuttered "It makes me feel weird.

Chris felt like he should be defending himself but he didn't. He wasn't so fond of his telepathic/empathic power either. He could never understand how he got stuck with them, though they had helped him against Wyatt a couple of times. So he should really not whine about it. The demon was now soaked to the bone and there was blood trickling on the side of his face. He looked at them with seething anger, and Chris understood that it was time to get over with it. He raised his hand and the demon slammed against the wall where the shelves were previously resting. Chris lifted his hand, the demon rising higher.

"What is the meaning of this attack?" the shape-shifter asked and Melinda scoffed.

"You are a demon! We don't need a special reason, or occasion, to vanquish you."

"I do the talking Mel," Chris reminded her. Melinda glared at him but his attention was already back to the problem at hand "What she said," he said and pressed him harder on the wall.

"I haven't attacked anyone as of late, I've been minding my own business..."

"You've been gathering troops Kerr," Chris said walking towards him.

"What if I did?"

"You've been snooping around, gathering information," Chris took a sheet of paper in his hands. It was the blue prints of P3. His jaw tightened and so did his raised fist. The demon gasped and his eyes went round, his hands trying to free his neck from invisible hands.

"Chris," Melinda said warningly. Chris thrust the page to her and Melinda let a little sigh looking at it "Still we don't want to kill him yet," she said to her brother.

"What is it with you demons and Wyatt huh?" Chris asked angrily unclenching his fist with great difficulty "He's just a baby!"

"A baby with a power to rule over the world," the demon said and Chris snorted.

"Yeah no shit Sherlock...Still though, he can kill all of you with a blink of his eyes," he said exaggerating slightly. Not that Wyatt couldn't kill all of them with a blink of his eyes, but baby Wyatt would definitely need a little more than a blink.

"Not if he trusts us."

"Wyatt would never trust you," Melinda kept baiting him along "He's cleverer than all of you together."

"He's clever alright, but still," the demon said smiling, reviling a row of pearl white teeth "he's just a baby," he repeated Chris' words.

"What's your plan? Make him trust you so he won't orb away when you get him down here? Keep him here and brainwash him?" Chris asked seeing the flaw in his guessing; why would the Charmed Ones leave Wyatt down there for more than a millisecond? Still he was only fishing for answers.

"Brainwash him? What for?" the demon asked rather baffled.

"To make him evil," Melinda provided the answer.

"Make him evil? All we had in mind was killing him," the shape-shifter said innocently and Chris' fist clenched again.

"Chris..."

"What? There's nothing else to get out of him. Obviously he is not the great threat in Wyatt's future."

"Still you can't vanquish him like that. We need a potion."

"There's no potion," Chris muttered berating himself at the same time.

"What? Chris we came over here without a vanquishing potion? What if there were more of them?"

"I knew there wouldn't be!"

"But what if there were?!"

"Then I guess we'd have to fight them!" Chris snapped right back at her throwing his arms up. Kerr fell on the ground before Chris could realise what he'd done. The crossbow was already in his hands.

"Chris!" Melinda yelled when she saw the arrow flying to her brother. Chris, with his telekinesis, threw the arrow back to the demon who jumped to avoid it.

"There's a spell, to vanquish shape shifters, I know there's a spell," Chris said trying to remember reading it in the book.

"But it is a power of three spell," Melinda told him as another arrow came her way. She blew it up and glimpsed at her brother.

"We could adjust it!" he yelled and she condescended, it wouldn't hurt to try,

"Okay follow my lead," she said and Chris gave her a dirty look that she decided to overlook "When in the circle that is home," Melinda chanted and smiled smugly when she heard Chris' voice "Safety is gone and evil roam...Ugh, Chris, it won't work," Melinda yelled remembering the last part of the spell.

"You don't know that."

"Yes I do, we have to be in the Manor for the spell to work," Melinda said and flicked her wrists to freeze the demon; she was sick and tired of blowing up his arrows, if only she could blow him up.

"We can't take him back home!"

"The only other alternative is to let him go...knowing that we are both witches," Melinda said crossing her arms over her chest. Chris bit on his lip and then his head fell forward.

"Mom is going to kill us," he said in defeat.

"She doesn't have to know. Look, you go first..."

"And leave you here? Alone? No, no way."

"Chris if I leave, he unfreezes!" Melinda reminded him "You orb straight to the attic, take the crystals, and make a cage, find the spell in the book and then you call me. I'll come with him, we'll vanquish him, and then I'll finally get to have some dinner!" she finished excitedly.

Chris couldn't believe that he was actually considering it! He was considering leaving his baby sister that he'd just met and yet felt overprotective of, with a powerful shape-shifter demon, all alone! Of course Melinda **could **handle him. How come he was the only one that didn't inherit any of their mother's powers? Chris sighed in indignation, and looked at Kerr.

"Don't take your eyes off of him, not for a second, ok?" he ordered and Melinda dutifully nodded "I'll call you in a minute," he said reassuringly before orbing out.

Re-orbing in the attic he went to close the door, and turned the key on the lock for good measure. He took the box where they kept the crystals in his hands and with a flick of his free hand he opened it and arranged the white crystals in a circle. He then rushed to the book and started quickly flickering through the pages.

Melinda was trying not to think of her brothers and how worried they'd be. She tried not to think of her Aunts and how they might end up going to her father to question or even threaten him. She tried not to think of her Uncles doing the same thing only in the reversed order. She couldn't block Anwen's face from appearing behind her lashes every time she blinked so she was more than grateful when she sensed Chris calling for her.

"Took you long enough!" Chris snapped and Melinda noticed that he was worried.

"You only called twice," she said weakly knowing what it felt like calling for someone and them failing to appear instantly. Chris didn't say anything, he only tapped his fingers on the book "Found the spell?"

"I did...Although we do need to change it."

"Told you it's a power of three spell," Melinda said smugly and he elbowed her "Ouch! Don't be piss-y Christy," she said snidely.

"Can we just finish him off before one of the sisters come looking for the book?" Chris asked deciding to take the higher road. Melinda sighed and looked at the spell.  
"Oh...okay this is easy enough," she said leaning a little closer "Just tap in to Wyatt's powers and we're set," she said with certainty "We only need to change one word really."

"Let's hope it works."

"When in the circle that is home,

Safety's gone and evils roam.

Rid all beings from these walls,

Save siblings three, now here our call."

"I think it works," Melinda pointed out when fire engulfed Kerr. Chris raised his eyebrows.

"Really? What made you think so?"

"Oh your sarcasm is tiresome."

"You don't mean that," Chris said after her. Melinda just waved a dismissive hand and ran down the stairs to the kitchen.

Chris sighed and leaning on the book he lowered his head, hiding his face in his hands. Another demon dead, another endless road. And he was running out of time. He had to find out who was going to turn Wyatt. He also had to find out a way to help Melinda. _If I can__'__t save Wyatt, I__'__ll have to get Melinda as far away from him as possible, _he thought solemnly before orbing to his room in the P3 and exhausted fell on his bed.

* * *

**A/N: Good? Bad? You tell me! **


	7. Chapter 7

**Disclaimer: I don't own the series Charmed or any of the original characters. **

**A/N: This is a rather short chapter, sorry. The first part is again from Melinda's time line. Let's hope you guys like it! Many, many thanks to my reviewers: Peanut-4ever and lizardmomma**

* * *

"And she just disappeared? Like that?" I ask looking at the blond girl I knew since I could remember myself. Anwen nods, her eyes turning misty.

"What if something happened to her?" she whispers horrified.

"No, no, we would've known, you would've known," I say with a certainty, which I currently don't feel "She's your Whitelighter, if something happened to her you would've known..."

"Chris," Wyatt's voice comes from behind me and I turn to look at him "We might have a problem."

"What kind of a problem?" I ask clenching my jaw. It isn't a secret that I hate problems.

"I can sense Mel, which means she's still alive...But her essence is so weak. As if she's travelled back in time."

"Or to another dimension," I mutter to myself and see my brother nodding "That's not good."

"No that's bad, that's very bad. At least **he **is not around for a little while longer," Wyatt says his eyes darkening.

"Where's Leo?" I hear Anwen's question and she walks closer to us.

"Europe, there's a rebellion going on in central Germany and the demons couldn't handle it on their own so he decided to take matters in his hands," Wyatt informs her, while I try to think of a way to bring Mel back.

"So he'll be distracted for a while," Anwen speculates and I shake my head.

"He might decide that the rebels do not deserve his time and kill them all instead of persuading them that he is doing everything for the greater good. Or he might just get bored and decide to come back."

"We need to find Melinda," Anwen says and both my brother and I nod simultaneously.

"Yeah the only set back is, we have no idea where the hell she is," Wyatt says running his hands through his hair.

* * *

Melinda woke up with a start. She didn't remember falling asleep. Hell she couldn't even remember orbing to her room. She looked around and noticed that the sun was still not up. Groaning she fell back on her pillow thinking about the dream she just had. _It was just that! Only a dream, _Melinda thought hard setting her jaw, _it was not a premonition, just a dream! _ She couldn't persuade herself though so she stopped. But how could she dream of something she'd never witnessed before? _Stupid thought there Mel! Dreams are not movies, when you see a dream it__'__s most likely something you__'__ve never seen before, _Melinda scolded herself. She sighed and turned to her side, snuggling the pillow closer to her as she tried to sleep again. But the image of her mother lying still on the floor, with Leo studying over her dead body, would not let her rest. She kicked at the covers and turned again pushing her eyes shut, determined to sleep.

Two hours later she was climbing down the stairs, her hand rubbing over her eyes, stifling a yawn. She saw that Aunt Phoebe and her mom were at the base of the stairs whispering about something. Making her stepping louder in purpose she continued towards the other two women.

"Morning," she said rather groggily. Piper gave her a once over and Phoebe smiled at her holding two pairs of earrings up.

"Morning!" her Aunt said brightly "Which one?"

"Ugh...this," Melinda said in-between a yawn pointing to the left pair. Melinda frowned when she heard someone, a male someone, speaking in the kitchen; it clearly wasn't Chris, or Leo "Who else is here?" she asked trying to get a better look of the people inside the kitchen.

"Richard, Paige's...friend," Piper trailed off and Melinda made a grimace.

"Richard? Oh, the joy," the teenager moaned and Piper raised an eyebrow.

"Do you know something about Richard that we don't?" Aunt Phoebe questioned and Melinda tilted her head.

"Other than his family's history with magic...not much, but..." She stopped and bit on her lip.

"But?" Piper inquired narrowing her eyes at the younger woman.

"I can't tell you, sorry," Melinda said "Future.."

"Ugh-huh, not another word," Piper cut her off. She was sick and tired of all the Whitelighters reprimanding her of future consequences lately. Melinda could see that her mother was getting upset so she decided to turn the conversation.

"Why are you all dressed up?" she asked eyeing her Aunt.

"Because I have a date with Jason but that's beside the point," Phoebe said eager to get back on the previous subject "Didn't Richard lose it the last time he used magic? I mean, really lose it?"

"Oh yeah, but you don't have to worry about that," Melinda said before she could stop herself waving her hand about. Piper gave her a look before focusing on her sister.

"I can assure you that he stayed in complete control of the garbage disposal," the eldest sister said sarcastically, and Phoebe with difficulty kept herself from rolling her eyes "It's 7:00 in the morning, how can you have a date?"

"Because it's 7 here, but it's evening in Hong Kong," Phoebe replied as it was the most casual thing. Melinda narrowed her eyes.

"Does this make any sense to you? Because it doesn't to me," Piper asked her and Melinda shook her head no.

"Back to the Richard problem people," Phoebe said moving her hands to get their attention "So you're not concerned about Richard using magic?"

"Yeah, I am," Piper gave in "But I'm more concerned with Paige being really pissed off because we butted into her business again."

"Oh yeah, she really gets angry when you do that," Melinda mused and both her mom and aunt looked at her questioningly "Well we've already established that I do know you in the future, so why don't we just leave it at that?"

"Leave it at that?" Piper asked her voice climbing up a notch "No way in hell or heaven missy."

"Okay, first of, what is with everyone calling me 'missy'? Huh? Is it planned? Rehearsed?" she asked and the other two just blinked at her "And second, I can't very well tell you everything..."

"Why do I sense that this sentence is going to finish with 'future consequences'?" Piper asked her sister.

"Because it probably would have," Phoebe said studying Melinda's face and trying to get a read of her, but there was nothing there "We are her sisters though, that's what we're supposed to do," she said abruptly.

"Are we back to Paige?" Piper asked frowning a little and Phoebe gave her a nod "We are her sisters but she's a grown up girl and besides if she doesn't make her own mistakes how do you expect her to learn?"

"Back to your date," Melinda filled the silence that fell between the three "I don't understand, is Chris orbing you to Hong Kong?"

"No, we're video conferencing," Phoebe said with a rather ridiculous smile "We just open our laptops and there we are, in colour."

"In each other's laps," Piper commented with a dry smirk and Melinda snickered.

"So you don't think we should talk to Paige? About Richard I mean," Phoebe said leaning on the banister of the stairs.

"We don't really know him," Piper said playing the devil's advocate.

"I know we don't. And neither does she, that's the problem," Phoebe sighed and her shoulders slummed a little, Piper gave her a disapproving look "What? Can't I worry?"

"From afar, yeah...Now, excuse me, I have to go unclog a sink..." She said starting on the stairs "Melinda, there's coffee and some pancakes in the oven," she threw over her shoulder. Hard as she tried Melinda couldn't stop the warmth that filled her stomach at her mother's words.

"Thanks," she said with a smile and went to get in the kitchen but Phoebe stopped her "Yes?"

"Should we worry about Richard?" Phoebe asked and Melinda opened her mouth but Phoebe stopped her "You told me yesterday that you're worried about your family, I'm worried about mine," Phoebe said pressing her hand over her chest "Paige might look strong but she's so breakable..."

"I know," Melinda whispered under her breath thinking strongly of her aunt back home and how worried she would surely be. Phoebe could sense the guilt oozing out of the young Whitelighter but she had no time to decipher it.

"I just...Can we trust him with her?"

"Look Phoebe I shouldn't be telling you this but," Melinda bit hard on her lip praying that Chris wouldn't find out "You can trust Richard. He'll make a mess of everything, but he'll clean up for it himself, well," she stopped and gave her a sad smile "Maybe not for everything."

"What is that supposed to mean?"

"It's nothing too important," Melinda reassured her, _only a broken heart. _

After a very awkward breakfast with Richard and Aunt Paige, who constantly tried to stir some kind of conversation seeing that Melinda was much more accepting of her boyfriend than her sisters were, Melinda orbed herself out and into the P3 in search of Chris.  
The club was empty as it should be at ten o'clock in the morning. A few sunbeams managed to sneak in through the blinds, molecules of dust dancing on them. The girl looked around heading for the back room. She knocked on the door but got no response.

"Chris?" she asked and yet no one spoke back. She knocked again and waited a second before reaching for the door knob.

The room was dark and tidy. There was no sign of Chris in there but Melinda walked in any way. All of his cloths were neatly folded on top of two chairs and the bedcover didn't even have a wrinkle on it. The only part of the small room that was messy was his desk. Melinda leaned over the chair and looked down at the strewn papers; diagrams, constellation maps, spells, a couple of prophecies and notes, so many notes.

Melinda straightened her body and pressed her forefinger on her forehead. She was the only one that Chris trusted, the only one he could talk to about his mission. And he was the only one that could help her to go back. She shivered at the thought of going back, what if she was too late and Leo had taken his anger out on her brothers?

"No, he won't do anything to them," she said to herself. Melinda closed her eyes and took a deep breath, letting her wards down and sensed for Chris. She frowned when she found him somewhere near Vancouver. What was he doing in Canada?

* * *

**A/N: Told ya it was short. So yeah, I just made Leo the evil-overlord of the whole world, not just America...It's kind of farfetched I admit it, do you think I should change it? Anyway this was kind of a filler chapter...I'll probably upload again in the weekend. Did you like this one? Hated it? Let me know!**


	8. Chapter 8

**Disclaimer: I don't own the series Charmed or any of the original characters. **

**A/N: Again not a really long chapter, I have some problems with my muses later...I think that this came out okay, but I don't know, maybe I'm wrong! Thanks again for your reviews!**

* * *

Melinda orbed out to orb in a junk yard as an energy ball whizzed over her head. Her eyes widened as she took in the demons that surrounded her and she fell on the ground to avoid two more energy balls. Melinda saw a waste bin and orbed it in front of her.

"What are you doing here?" Chris yelled at her and Melinda relieved looked up to find him hiding behind a minivan. There was someone behind him but Melinda couldn't make out whom.

"Where is here?" she asked back. An energy ball hit the wall above Chris' head and he ducked. _Oh this is ridiculous! _ Melinda thought to herself and jumped up. The demons seemed surprised to see her again and she used that to her advantage; she flicked her hands and one of them blew up, _low level demons then_. Instead of killing them she froze them and turned to her brother; she wanted some answers first. "Okay, what's going on?" Melinda asked crossing her arms over her chest. Chris whispered something to whomever he was with before stepping from behind the van.

"What are you doing here?" Chris asked his eyes running down her body to make sure she was fine.

"I came looking for you! Why are we in Vancouver?" she asked frowning.

"Leo," Chris spat out.

"Oh..." Melinda said in mock understanding "Umm...No, I still don't get it."  
"He gave me a new charge," Chris said and beckoned Morris to come out. The fifteen year old stumbled from behind the minivan, his eyes avoiding both witches.

"He made you look after a child?" she asked and Morris eyes accusingly found her face.

"Watch it lady," he barked and she raised her eyebrows before her gaze flickered to Chris.

"He's not that much younger than you," Chris took Morris' side, and Melinda narrowed her eyes to him warningly.

"Who's she?" Morris asked his accent heavy, foreign. Chris eyes flickered between the two.

"Ugh, it's complicated, but you can trust her," he said placing his hand on the kid's shoulder. Morris pinned his pale blue eyes in Chris' and after a second he nodded.

"I'm still waiting," Melinda said impatiently knowing she was getting annoying.

"Leo appointed me another charge, Morris," Chris said and finally Melinda understood what was going on.

"Oh, that's not good," she said, and he shook his head negatively "Can he even do that?"  
"He's an Elder," Chris said shrugging.

"Yeah but don't they confer, or something before appointing charges?"

"Apparently no. And I'd watch out if I were you, he's getting a bit delusional with distrust, he might give you a charge."

"What? No! He can't do that!" Melinda exclaimed but Chris simply looked at her "I cannot even heal!"

"That didn't stop him with me," Chris muttered bitterly. Melinda huffed in annoyance and turned to look at the demons. Flickering her wrist she blew one of them up.

"Chris, they're low level demons, why are you hiding behind a van instead of vanquishing them? Mom is not around and I'm sure that Aunt Paige and Aunt Phoebe won't jump from behind that wall and say 'Haha! Gotcha you have magic powers!'" Chris frowned a little. Why didn't he try to vanquish the demons? He hadn't used his powers in so long, he wasn't sure if he could remember how. _Well that__'__s not true, _a little voice said inside his head, _you did kill that shape-shifter last night, with Melinda__'__s help._

"You can kill them? And then I can go back to school?" Morris asked and Chris' eyes moved to him "Cool!"

"A kid who likes school? Are you from a different planet?" Melinda asked the fifteen year old.

"Hey I liked school," Chris defended his charge and Melinda's gaze told him exactly what she was thinking; 'that's my point'. Chris rolled his eyes at her but decided to stay silent.

He turned to the demons and without pondering long about it he lifted his hand, palm up. A lightening struck out of his hand making Morris jump back scared. It hit the demon on the chest and he blew up in fires while screaming.

"Now that's what I'm talking about," Melinda said appreciatively. Chris though noticed Morris frightened eyes and the way he was looking between himself and Melinda.

"Erh, Mel could you take care of them?" he asked and she spun around peering at him quizzically "I gotta drop Morris off at school," he said and her eyes narrowed a little but she nodded "C'mon," Chris said and a little hesitantly Morris gave him his hand.

When they orbed in the school yard the fifteen year old took a step away. To Chris it was like a slap in the face; great, he'd manage to scare his charge from day one! Wasn't he a top notch Whitelighter?

"Morris, are you okay?" he asked gently and the boy nodded vigorously "Look this kinda of ambushes are not..."

"How did you do that?" Morris cut him off. Chris tilted his head on the side in question "That...thing, with the lightening. How did you do that?"

"It's one of my powers, but I don't like to use it," Chris shrugged the question off.

"Can you teach me how to do it?"

"Your powers are something you acquire with experience. It's not something that can be taught," Chris said as if reading the bit out of a sheet of paper.

"Then I might get it too? One day?" Morris asked hopefully. Chris shifted his weight from one foot to another.

"No, you might though get the power of throwing energy-balls, that's quite cool too."

"Like the demons?"

"Yeah, like the demons. Only you can't use it against humans."

"I know that. The powers are given in order to fight evil," Morris said and Chris smiled.

"Right..."

"How come I can't have that lightening power?"

"You're dead set on that one, huh?" Chris asked crossing his arms over his torso. Morris nodded "That specific power isn't not...it's not meant for witches."

"But?"

"For Elders," Chris said bitterly. Morris frowned.

"What is an Elder?"

"Boy you're full of questions aren't you?"

"Sorry...Just a week ago I found out that my absentee father was a witch and my mom an evil seer, so excuse me for having so many questions!" Morris snapped and started for the school.

"Okay now calm down," Chris said orbing right in front of him. Morris had to stop quickly so not to crash on him "I'm sorry. Of course you can ask questions."

"What is an Elder?" Morris repeated his question and Chris sighed.

"They're like Whitelighters but they have more duties and powers."

"So they're like your bosses?" Morris asked and Chris shivered at the idea.

"You could say that."

"But...I don't understand," Morris shook his head a little and his bangs fell into his eyes "If you're a Whitelighter how come you have an Elder's power?"

"Ugh it's complicated," he said and Morris was ready to protest "The bell is going to ring any minute now, and Melinda has been calling me for the last two, so the rest of your questions will have to wait, ok?"

"Fine," Morris gave in with a pout. Chris chuckled and ruffled his hair. Morris yelped and jumped away from him. "Dude, not the hair!" he exclaimed, his hands already trying to fix the mess that Chris had created on his head.

"If you get into trouble, just call my name," Chris advised before orbing away.

* * *

Melinda huffed as she inspected her nails, sitting on the hood of the minivan. Taking care of the demons wasn't so difficult considering she could just blow them up. She nearly fell off when she heard the jingling inside her head.

"You've got to be kidding me," she whispered her eyes rising on the sky. She scurried down and her arms wrapped around her torso. What did they want? Why were they calling her up there? She wasn't going to go "Chris!" she yelled and looked around ready to see her brother orbing in, but Chris didn't come. And the jingling got louder. Melinda closed her eyes and tried to raise her mental shields but the noise in her head wouldn't allow her. She bent over, her elbows against her knees and gritted her teeth. Those damn Elders could be really get very annoying if they wanted.

"Chris!" she yelled again. Damn Morris for being a fearful fifteen year old! Damn Chris for caring! Damn Leo for appointing him a new charge! Damn the damn Elders! Just damn! Her head was about to explode. What did they want? And why were they so demanding? Sure she hadn't orbed up there yet to introduce herself as she knew she should've done, but that meant that they couldn't know she was there! Unless someone told them.

"Damn Leo," she breathed heavily. Thoughts of her father pushing Wyatt on the swings in the playground swirled in her head. His happy smile at her tenth birthday. His pride at Wyatt's prom dance... _Just months before mom died, _she thought bitterly to herself. Then her memories got darker; Leo yelling at her for breaking Aunt Pearl's good china. Wyatt protesting when Leo forced him to kill a demon by using his Elder powers. Chris' ninth birthday when Leo was nowhere to be found. Leo standing over her mother's dead body...

"That was just a dream," she said stubbornly. As if protesting to her words the jingling got louder "For Christ's sake Chris! Please!" she cried out exasperated and afraid. She slowly raised her eyes on the sky and glared "I am not coming so you might as well give it up already! Chris!"

Chris orbed in just in time to see her collapsing on the dirt. Worried he rushed over to her, kneeling next to her fallen form. Melinda was cradling her head in her hands, her body rocking back and forth.

"Mel?" he said in a low voice and Melinda whimpered.

"Make it stop," she pleaded looking at him through her fingers. Chris studied her face trying to understand what was wrong with her. She didn't seem to be hurt and he hadn't been gone for too long so he doubted he'd missed something important. It was the way and force that she pushed her fingers against her forehead that clued him about what was happening.

"They're summoning you, aren't they?" he asked darkly and Melinda whimpered again "Leo told them...Man! Why can't he just mind his own damn business?" Chris yelled angrily jumping up "He's been all over me since the day I got here and true I've been a little shady but you haven't done anything remotely suspicious..."

"Chris," Melinda whispered and Chris mentally kicked his ass before crouching back next to her.

"Sorry I tend to ramble when I'm angry..."

"And when you're worried," Melinda said with a warm smile.

"Right...Mel," he said and the younger girl opened her eyes to look at him "You know there's only one way for the jingling to go away, don't you?"

"I don't want to go up there," she said stubbornly.

"I know, and trust me, if there was any other way I wouldn't make you..."

"No Chris, I can't go up there! I- I can't," she said shaking her head in refusal.

"Lin," Chris started and Melinda's eyes snapped to his.

"How did you call me?" she demanded and Chris frowned.

"Lin...do you prefer Mel?"

"No...it's just; only grandpa and mom ever called me that," she said and the ghost of a smile played on her lips. Chris gave her a smile which quickly fell away.

"Is grandpa dead? In your time line?" he asked. Melinda bit on her lip and nodded.

"I'm sorry, I know how close you two were," she said ignoring the pain -that if didn't submerge in the next few seconds it would definitely drive her nodded. He opened his mouth to say something when he saw her hands clenching. Once again he felt like hurting himself. He could be so selfish some times. He looked back at her and noticed for the first time how young she looked.

"Lin," he spoke and she edged her head towards him but didn't open her eyes "We need to go."

"No Chris..." she moaned and tried to crack an eye open. It felt impossible. Chris pushed some hair out of her face and leaned closer to her.

"I'll be there with you okay? I won't let them pull any crap."

"Do you promise?" she asked her voice small, reminding him of Henry Jr. whenever he was sick. He smiled a little and brushed her forehead.

"I promise."

Chris marvelled when she stood up without another word. _I must be a really good brother in the future if she trusts me like that,_ he thought to himself. Taking a deep breath Melinda wiggled her fingers and he quickly took a hold of her hand.

Melinda didn't like it up there. When Anwen was appointed to her it was Wyatt that coaxed her into going, and it took a lot of coaxing. Chris always used to joke that there was no oxygen up there, a notion that Paige seemed to share, and it took her years to realise that they were only joking around. She didn't like all the whiteness. She didn't like the classical buildings that surrounded the place, it made her feel like she was transported in ancient Greece. She didn't like the golden robes the Elders wore and the pompous smiles on their faces. And that feeling that engulfed her; the feeling of absolute solitude, it freaked her out. Chris felt her shaking next to him and nudged her a little on the ribs. Melinda turned her eyes on him and he held his head higher motioning for her to do the same. Melinda instantly followed his lead.

"Okay you were way too insistent for us to come just to keep us waiting!" Chris yelled looking at the cloaked Elders who walked around holding their heads down. Pretentious bastards! They never tried to help and when they decided that it might be a good idea to start they got themselves killed...

"We didn't call for you," he heard a voice he recognised all too well and clenched his jaw. Two figures stopped in front of them and removed their hoods.

"Zola," Chris greeted refusing to acknowledge Leo "I'm just escorting Melinda, she was kind of hesitant to come up here alone."

"Why is that?" Leo asked his light blue eyes moving to her face and Melinda kept herself from responding by biting on her tongue, hard "It's not as if we commanded her to go to the Underworld."

"Oh I'd choose the Underworld in a heartbeat...And that's probably not something I should've said," she shut up her cheeks red.

"Probably," Zola agreed, but only Leo eyed her suspiciously.

"What are we doing up here, then?" Chris asked. Leo glared at him and opened his mouth, probably to tell him off, but Zola put a hand on his arm to keep him calm.

"We have a charge for Melinda," Leo said and Melinda shook her head.

"No, I already have a charge in my time line and I'm perfectly happy with that one."

"You are in this time line now, and there are far too many good witches out there without a Whitelighter. We need all free hands on decks."

"But my hands are not free!" Melinda burst, earning a hard look from both Elders.

"Having a charge under your wings is nothing but an honour," Leo said and Melinda's lips turned into a thin line.

"That's what you said the first time you gave me someone to look after," she almost barked at him. At this Leo looked surprised.  
"We...we know each other in the future?"

"Yes," Melinda said quickly wanting to change the subject "The point is I haven't taken all of my powers yet, I can't even heal."

"The one trigger..."

"...for healing is love, I know, I know," Melinda cut Zola off "but it only worked once in my past and I was too upset to understand what I was doing right."

"If you run into trouble, and your charge gets hurt, you can always bring her here," Zola said doing a wide motion with his hands.

"I haven't agreed on taking her," Melinda reminded them.

"You don't have a choice," Leo said and Melinda turned to Chris who was glaring at their father.

"Of course she has. She can always go back, refuse to help us with savingyour **son**, Wyatt, remember him? Or the lack of oxygen affects your memory?" Chris asked coolly.

Leo was about to snap, Melinda could tell. She shivered and took several steps back her eyes somehow glued on the man's face. She wanted to look away, but she couldn't. The anger that played in his eyes, the lines on his face, the firm line of his lips. Melinda swallowed, trembling again. She'd seen him like that so many times before. And every time he'd do something to make her wish she wasn't his daughter. To make her wish she was strong enough to hurt him as he hurt her. He'd kill and he'd kill in front of them for punishment.

Both Elders were giving him an earful but the only thing that Chris noticed was Melinda missing. He looked around and found her several steps away, her eyes pinned on Leo. She looked scared. He looked back at the man and saw his angry glare. It wasn't though something that startled him; that was practically Leo's greeting face whenever Chris was involved. Chris wasn't afraid of him. Of course Leo wasn't the dark overlord in Chris' future.

"Could you stop scaring Melinda off? You do need her help," he said raising his eyebrows. Zola was quick to shut up and he forced Leo to do the same by placing his hand on the other man's arm. Leo spat a couple of words in French, that Chris didn't want to translate, and then clenched his jaw.

"We didn't mean to scare her," Zola excused himself and Leo, but Chris just glared at the blond.

"She's afraid of him, Zola, not you," Chris clarified. Not really caring about the two Elders he marched next to Melinda and touched her arm. Melinda jumped "Hey," he whispered leaning closer to her "It's okay."

"I-I know," Melinda stuttered a little. She drew in a deep breath and raised her head, levelling her gaze with Leo's "It's just..." she trailed off, her gaze flickering momentarily towards Chris.

"I get it," he said reassuringly. Melinda nodded and when after a couple of seconds felt up to it, she walked back to the two older men, with Chris on her side.

"I didn't..."

"Save it," Melinda said coolly and it was the first time she ever saw Leo shutting up because she told him too. The unintentional pleasure she got out of it was almost too much to conceal. She didn't quite know why they let her go with the attitude but she wasn't about to question it "So who is this charge?" she asked setting her jaw and blocking the little voice that accused her of betraying Anwen.

"She's a witch," Zola started and Melinda rolled her eyes; Elders were so...obvious. Of course she was a witch "She's close to your age and she just came to her powers, so she's confused."

"Does she have a name?" Melinda asked as politely as she could muster.

Zola made a move with his hand and the air in front of her face flickered. It flickered again and after a while it turned into an image. A motion picture. Of a woman, with tangled, long, ginger hair. With pale white skin that looked almost translucent. With low but prominent cheekbones and a narrow jaw. With big pale blue eyes and thick black lashes. A woman shorter and thinner than her, with the fingers of a pianist.

"Oh, you've got to be kidding me," Melinda said with a small scoff and a shake of her head.

"Is there something wrong?" Zola questioned and Melinda hooked an eyebrow.

"Wrong? You mean this is not purposeful?" she asked with obvious distrust. Zola turned to Leo who just shrugged and looked at her.

"I do not understand," the dark skinned Elder said and Melinda scoffed again.

"This is Iris DeMontagne, right?"

"That is correct."

"And you mean me to believe that this is a random charge you are giving me?"

"We do not decide which charge should be appointed to a certain Whitelighter, fate does," Leo said and Melinda wanted to ignore him, but if there was one thing she believed in that was fate.

"Okay I'll bite...but let me tell you this is just plain wrong," she said and with another small shake of her head she turned to Chris "Let's go."

"You don't have to do this," Chris told her and she smiled.

"I know that." She said with a small smile before orbing off. Chris stared for a second longer at the space she'd previously occupied before orbing away as well.

"Okay, explain," he sort of ordered when he found her hiding behind yet another dustbin. Melinda flickered her eyes between him and Iris DeMontagne.

"This, is my piano teacher from first till fifth grade," she started as she saw Iris getting out of a silver small Fiat and heading towards a building, a key chain in her hands "She's Aunty Paige's best friend and she happens to be Anwen's mom," she breathed and a surprised Chris gaped at her.


	9. Chapter 9

**Disclaimer: I don't own the series Charmed or any of the original characters. **

* * *

"Lin, I don't know if this is a wise choice."

"She died when I was in fifth grade," Melinda said harshly ready to make her move "It was just a demon attack that she would've survived if her Whitelighter wasn't such a scumbag, but he was preoccupied with drinking himself to oblivion and she bled to death," she exhaled and willing herself to stay strong she stood up.

She could remember the first time she saw Anwen in kindergarten. She was gripping her mom's hand so tightly that her little knuckles had turned white. When the teacher went to greet her she hid behind her mom's leg hugging it just as tight. Melinda remembered watching in as Wyatt was playing tag with Chris and Piper tried to make them stop. She could remember the first time Anwen invited her over. How much smaller the apartment looked to her compared to the Manor. How much she loved the warm colours and the fact that pillows laid all over; Melinda loved pillows. And when she saw the grand piano, it was love at first sight.

Melinda was nine when she decided to tell Anwen about her powers. She was so nervous that day, afraid that Anwen would run away. But Anwen, ever the patient one, let her get it all out and then conjured a handkerchief when Melinda started crying. To say that they were both thrilled they could use their powers around the other would be an understatement. But then a couple of months afterwards Iris died. Anwen's father was not around and her grandmother who became Anwen's legal guardian asked the Charmed Ones to bind her granddaughter's powers.

When everything changed, when her mother and aunts died, and her father started terrorizing the world, Leo wouldn't let her break off the spell. The only way for Anwen to take her powers back was by claiming her wings, since she was destined to be a Whitelighter, but in order to do that she had to die. And Melinda couldn't let that happen.

"Hi," Melinda said and it was all she could say at the moment because an onslaught of memories of Iris DeMontagne rushed over her as the slightly older woman looked at her with kind eyes.  
"Hello, do I know you?" she asked her voice melodic, her intonation foreign. Nordic.

"Ugh, no, but you will," Melinda said lamely. Iris crossed her arms over her chest and studied her "I'm your Whitelighter."

"Lin I still don't..."

"Aha-ah," Melinda stopped him raising her hand. Chris looked not amused, definitely not amused "Why don't you go check on Morris?"

"He's still at school."

"Maybe you should go back to the Manor..."

"Leo will kick my ass out."

"Go to P3, obsess over your silly maps."

"Piper is in P3 talking with a band about tomorrow...And my maps are not stupid," he added as if an afterthought. He noticed that Iris looked at them with an interested smile on her face "This is not a good idea, Lin," he said again.

"I don't have much of a choice, do I?" Melinda asked her brother, but she knew what he was going to say before he even opened his mouth.

"You always have a choice."

"Right, same old Chris...Just, let me do this. I promise you, I'm gonna be careful and if I get in way over my head, I'll call for you, okay?"

"You promise?" Chris asked just like she'd done not so long before. Melinda nodded "Be careful," Chris admonished.

"Boyfriend?" Iris question with a kink of her eyebrow misinterpreting the fond smile on Melinda's face. The one that quickly vanished as the girl's face turned into a mask of repulsion.

"Ewe, no!" she exclaimed and Iris looked surprised.

"Well he's not that bad..."

"Oh, no, no, he's not bad at all," Melinda tried to amend "He's...my big brother," she said and smiled again.

"Oh..._oh, _sorry about the mental image," Iris apologised playing with the keychain. Melinda shrugged.

"It's alright."

"So you are my...Whitelighter?" Iris asked and it was obvious in her voice that she had no damn idea what a Whitelighter was.

"Yup that's me. I'll practically be your guardian angel, you know, inform you about demons, save you when you need saving, try to heal you..."

"Try to?" Iris asked the thing that Melinda had hoped she'd overlook.

"Well I haven't grown into it yet," she said feeling self-conscious her eyes lowering to her shoes.

"Okay, then we'll try not to get me hurt," Iris said with a smile, that Melinda soon mirrored.

* * *

Chris didn't know what he was doing in the Manor. Morris was at school, he had at least twenty minutes ahead of him until the next break. Melinda was with her new charge, he still couldn't believe that the Elders were so quick to appoint her to someone; how did Leo make them vote for him? There were no demons he needed to take care off. In general he had nowhere else to go. He decided to follow one of Melinda's options and go home. He orbed straight in the attic, avoiding any unwanted attention. Chris drew a breath of relief and relaxed; he always felt at ease in there. Ever since he was a little boy he somehow found himself drawn towards the attic. Chris guessed that it had something to do with the book.

He walked to the podium where the book was placed and laid his hands on the hard, dark green cover, the triqueta pulsing underneath his fingertips. He was about to start flipping through the pages when he felt it; there was something wrong. Something with the book, the power of three. Something with magic.

Maybe that was it. The sign he was waiting for. The one that would turn his brother into the evil, cold hearted killer he was in Chris' feature. He knew better than to get ahead of himself and hope; this could after all be just a false alarm. He shut his eyes and concentrated. They quickly snapped open as he looked worriedly at the door; the signal was coming from the living room.

* * *

Melinda could feel it. It was a burning in her chest that made her squirm as Iris made some tea for them. Her hand moved to her throat and she toyed with the hem of her blouse. She was getting sweaty.

"Are you okay?" she heard Iris' voice. But it felt like it was coming from underwater. Melinda shook her head "What's wrong?"

"Power," she said with difficulty "Lots and lots of it...There shouldn't be such a concentration of power in one place, in one being," she murmured fear spreading through her.

Iris now was worried. She had just met this girl, this nineteen year old, but she already felt close to her. Melinda had informed her of the bond that would eventually form between them, but Iris already felt that she knew her, that she could trust her. Unconditionally.

"Where is it? The power concentration?" she asked and Melinda's eyes snapped open, her look haunted.

"Home," she said and Iris took a hold of the girl's slender hands.

"Is it dangerous?"

"Imagine the most dangerous thing that can happen," Melinda said pinning in her eyes "And then multiply it by hundred."

"That doesn't sound good."

* * *

Chris felt like he was frozen in the middle of the staircase. The sunlight that filtered freely through the windows of the conservatory hit on the blade and deflected throughout the room, in times illuminating the face of the beholder.

_This is not happening, it__'__s not happening! Not today, it is supposed to be a relaxed day damn it! _Chris yelled in his head as Paige tried to orb the Excalibur just to have it backfire on her. Chris winced. Oh how he loathed the sword that was tightly grasped in his mother's hand. It had caused such a mayhem in his time. Wyatt had used it to slaughter witches for entertainment. As much as Chris hated his brother, he hated the Excalibur more. And that said it all.

"It appears your queen has spoken," said the Dark Knight, but Chris was still stunned and couldn't react before Piper shimmered away.

* * *

The pain had surpassed, but Melinda was still scared. Something had happened home. Something big. And she wasn't there. Because of Leo! The lamp above her head quickly exploded and Melinda looked ruefully at Iris.

"Sorry about that. I can hardly control my powers when I'm angry, or scared," she apologised.

"Which one are you now?" Iris asked as she brought the cup to her mouth and took a long sip of her tea.

"Both. But I think I'm more scared than angry."

"Maybe you should go home."

"I don't know..."

"Is it better sitting here with me? Don't get me wrong, it's nice to have someone around, especially if demons start popping out of thin air, but wouldn't you rather make sure that your family is safe?"

"They are," Melinda hesitated and it was all Iris needed.

"And how can you know that? For sure?"

She didn't. Yes she was from the future. Yes the Charmed Ones should be alive and well for at least another decade. But this was not her time line, she didn't even know if it was an alternate universe or not. She really couldn't be sure whether or not they were safe.

"They have Chris," she said weakly.

"They might need you too," Iris insisted.

"I can't leave you like this, what if a demon attacks?" Melinda said and Iris' hand tensed around the cup she was holding.

"Then I'll have to deal with it," she said her voice unwavering. Melinda knew that she was afraid and the fact that Iris concealed it made her all more proud about her best friend's mother.

"Let's make sure that you won't have too," Melinda said standing up. She looked around the place, her teeth boring on her lower lip. She extended her hand, palm up and said out loud "Crystals."  
Iris jumped a little in her seat and Melinda's eyes snapped to her.

"H-how did you do that?"

"Part of being a Whitelighter," Melinda said winking. She opened the lid and "Circle," she ordered waving her hand around. The crystals twinkled blue before they disappeared in blue lights. Iris blinked and she saw one of them landing behind her couch.

"What are these?" Iris asked cranking her neck to look better at the crystal.

"Protective crystals, if you stay in the general area of the living room and the kitchen no demon will be able to harm you. If a demon shimmers anywhere close the crystals will jingle, if they do you call for me, okay?" Melinda explained closing the lid and holding on to the box.

"What about your family?"

"You shouldn't care about them. If the crystals jingle, you call me. Day or night," Melinda repeated. Iris nodded a confirmation. Great now she also had to buy a set for crystals to replace the one she got from the Manor.

* * *

At first Chris didn't even notice the light blue sparkles that orbing left behind. He was just numb. After Piper was gone the whole household had gone awry. Paige and Phoebe were running around the place trying to find her but Chris knew it was all in vain...

"What's up?" Melinda asked her face grim. Although he hadn't seen her coming he didn't even flinch.

"The Excalibur," Chris muttered his eyes dull.

"What about it?"

"They found it today...Piper took it out of the rock, now they're gone," Chris said as if in trance. Melinda assessed her brother's situation and hoping he'd understand she raised her hand and smacked him hard across the face.

"Snap out of it!" she hissed. Chris shook his head a little and blinked. He was slowly drifting in shock mode. He looked around bewildered, taking in the state of the living room and the rest of the house. He then looked at Melinda blinking.

"Where's Paige and Phoebe?" Melinda asked and Chris' eyes turned to the ceiling "Right," she grabbed his arm and orbed them up there.

"...to pull the sword out," she heard Leo's voice and involuntarily shivered.

"Then why was she able to?" Phoebe was asking.

"She was meant to pass it on, not keep it for herself," Chris said startling them.

"Chris! You're here, finally!" Paige said and punched his arm lightly. She was glad that he was there, the others might not trust him but Paige knew that he could help.

"What are you doing here, Chris?" Leo demanded his eyes hard.

"We are here to save Piper," Melinda responded instead. She looked at Phoebe and took a couple of steps forward "Piper is the Lady of the Lake, not the re-incarnation of King Arthur."

"Why is the sword turning her Evil?" Paige asked and Chris was quick to provide the answer,

"Because only the ultimate power on Earth can handle Excalibur," he muttered his voice grim.

"The thing is," Melinda said throwing a quick look to her brother and Phoebe could sense that she felt confused "We know where Piper is."

"What?" Phoebe yelled as Paige demanded,

"How?"

"This happened before," Chris told them.

"Yes it has, but...it's a trap. We can take you there, but you have to know..."

"Take them there? We won't take them there!" Chris cut her off loudly.

"Chris," she started, but he shook his head.

"We can deal with this," he said stubbornly.

"What makes you think we'll let you go anywhere without us?" Paige challenged narrowing her eyes.

"Paige, this is a suicide wish!" Chris tried to resonate with her but she was having none of that. Neither of them did.

"Oh, so you two can handle it, but we can't?" Phoebe demanded "You're just kids..."

"We didn't say you can't handle it," Melinda interjected "But it's dangerous, and with Piper under the influence of the Excalibur..."

"Plus, we are expendable," Chris said and Melinda flinched but she knew he was right "You're not. You are the Charmed Ones!"

"You can't say that!" Paige exclaimed angrily glaring at him "No one is expendable."

"That's your own opinion! Leo, tell them!" Chris was desperate enough to ask for his father's help.

"I think you should just tell us where Piper is and we can take it from here," Leo said. Chris scoffed and threw his hands in the air.

"You are doing this just so to spite me aren't you? God, you know how dangerous this is, and if you weren't so full of yourself you would agree with me!"

"Hey, watch it mister," Phoebe said warningly but Chris was in a full shout mode.

"I've come here to save the world! To stop what you couldn't and all you seem to do is second guess me! And now you deliberately want to put yourself in harm's way and Leo your ex-Whitelighter, current Elder, and Wyatt's father, is siding with you! You know what? I don't care!" he yelled to them "Do as you please, I've done my part warning you. C'mon Lin," he said lowering his voice a little.

"It would be for the best if you didn't follow," Melinda said a plea in her voice going out to her aunts. She looked over at her brother and Chris was the first to orb out, she quickly followed.

Melinda was slightly apprehensive as they orbed in the huge room. The round table stood predominant and in the middle of it a huge pentacle was carved on it. There were crimson banners hanging from the walls of the cavern that had symbols Melinda had only seen in illustrated children books before. Around the table there were five seats with a high back and sculls as decoration. The girl quivered as she looked around the place. She cast her eyes on Chris, but she noticed his blank expression and grew worried. She had seen Chris angry before, oh boy had she not, but it was rarely ever directed to their Aunts. And it was a rare occurrence for him to storm out without resolving the situation.

"Are you okay?" she asked, but he didn't respond, his eyes pinned on the round table. If there was one thing that this Chris shared with her own brother then that was definitely their determination.

Chris knew he should answer Melinda's question, none of this was her fault. He also knew that he shouldn't have snapped to his Aunts like that, it wasn't their fault either. The Excalibur was bringing the worst out of people and Chris was feeling rather stupid for letting his memories of the hated weapon to take over his mind. But that was easier said than done. The others didn't know about the sword, they didn't know what Wyatt would do when he'd take it out of the rock. What he'd do to innocent humans, to good witches, to his own family...

"Chris," Melinda said with urgency but her brother was still lost in his own thoughts. The tightness in her chest grew stronger, and Melinda pressed her hand over it "Chris!" His eyes snapped to her and once he saw the discomfort embed on her face he rushed towards her.

"Easy, easy," he admonished as she hissed her breath "Calm down for me Lin, please," he said in a smooth low voice and Melinda tried to control her breathing "Is it Iris, is she in danger?" Chris asked and Melinda shook her head violently.

"No, I put the crystals in her apartment...This is not about her," Melinda doubled over as a feeling of despair filled her in and out. She didn't know how Chris could shield himself from it; she wasn't an empath damn it and she was dying inside!

"What then?" he asked his eyes flickering over to the table making sure that they were still alone.

"It's Paige and Phoebe, how can you not feel this?" Melinda demanded her eyes snapping open to pin in him.

"Paige and...are they okay?" Chris asked instantly worried, and Melinda again shook her head. Dread filled him throughout as he waited for his sister to speak.

"No they are definitely not...Chris I need to go to them, I don't know if I can keep up with this any longer," Melinda said the pain obvious in her voice.

"Okay, let's go..."

"No!" Melinda snapped and he looked at her confused "You'll stay here, I'm going."

"I'm not going to let you go alone!"

"Chris, this is not negotiable," Melinda said firmly. Chris didn't say anything but just glared at her and she held his gaze. This was a battle of wits, one that they didn't really have time for, one that Melinda had been through many times in the past "This will get us nowhere," she said after five minutes.

"I know," Chris responded but didn't take his eyes away. Melinda sighed.

"Chris," she said her voice a bit nagging "You have to stay here! If I don't go and something happens, I won't be able to handle the guilt, and if I let you go, and stay here...If anything happens I'm not strong enough handle the sword," Melinda finished lowering her head. It was true. The couple of times that she had to fight with the sword, Melinda had been under its spell in less than five minutes. Its power was always too great for the rather prone to dark magic girl. The remembrance made her shiver visibly.

"Okay," Chris gave in seeing the change in her face. Melinda gave him a weak smile before orbing away without another word.

She re-materialised just in time to see her Aunts hitting the ground and her mother, Excalibur in hand, shimmering out while a rather handsome stranger followed her suit. Melinda blinked and looked at the two fallen bodies of her Aunts her heartbeats quickening.

"Oh no, no, no," she muttered quickly dropping to her knees and shaking their bodies.

* * *

**A/N: Good? Bad? You tell me! **


	10. Chapter 10

**Disclaimer: I don't own the series Charmed or any of the original characters. **

**A/N: I really need someone to remind me why I decided to study history, because all of this studying, all the facts and the boring events, kind of make me hate it...Anyway, here's the next chapter!**

* * *

It was a weird sensation certainly. Paige wasn't sure she'd ever get used to it. Accepting her Wiccan heritage had brought a lot of new things in her life, like for example dying an alarming number of times. Of course she always managed somehow to come back, but that didn't make the feeling any less odd.

"What just happened?" she questioned as she saw her body lying on a heap at her feet, already knowing the answer to her question.

"I don't know but I don't think it's good," Phoebe said as she also looked at her body. She did a double take and noticed that Melinda was there looking distraught "Melinda," she said surprised and the brunette looked up.

"Phoebe!" Melinda exclaimed jumping up "Paige, I'm sorry, I was too late," she said with a slow shake of her head as tears prickled in her eyes.

"It's not your fault, you couldn't have known," Paige heard herself saying, feeling sorry for the Whitelighter that had to find them in this situation.

"I know but if I'd manage to make Chris see reason, if you'd come with us..." she stopped and shook her head again "I'm sorry."

"It's okay," Phoebe said sympathetically and Melinda's green eyes flashed to her face.

"How can it be?"

"Because we are still here, which means we are not dead, not yet. Nothing that a little healing can't fix," Phoebe said forcing herself to see past the way Melinda's shoulders hunched in defeat, or the way her eyes crinkled when she cried. The girl's resemblance of her eldest sister was distracting. Melinda nodded and was ready to call for Leo when Paige stopped her.

"Why don't you give it a try?"

"Paige I don't know how much more time we have," Melinda said urgently and she saw that Phoebe agreed with her.

"Well just humour me," Paige insisted. She could feel Phoebe's eyes on the side of her head but she didn't care.

After the conversation, the very brief one, that she shared with Melinda the previous day Paige had decided that she trusted the younger woman. She also felt the inexplicable urge to help her. It was much like with Chris, only the stubborn Whitelighter didn't seem to often hear what she was saying. Paige wanted to help him, but in most cases Chris trapped himself in the corner and she just couldn't. Melinda though was a different case, she was more willing to compromise than Chris, she was more open when she needed help. And Paige was going to help her, one way or the other.

Melinda looked in her Aunt's eyes but Paige didn't back away. With a resigned sigh she knelt by the bodies again and rolling them both on their backs she raised her hands, palms down, over Paige's body. She wished her power to work, just this once, just like it did with Anwen.

"I can't..." she murmured.

"You're blocking it," Paige said her voice soothing "I can feel a tagging, the power is there, you just need to concentrate for a second."

Well this was easier said than done! All Melinda could think of was Chris coming face to face with the Dark Knight while defenceless. She never heard the whole story, she never knew what happened to her mother and how Piper broke free from the influence of the sword but something told her that she didn't really want to know. She shivered as fear for Chris' wellbeing ran throughout her. The man that was and wasn't her brother was too focused on his mission. She just knew that he wouldn't use his powers in front of Piper no matter what, and that could very well be his demise. Melinda couldn't let Chris die! She wouldn't.

"C'mon damn it!" she hissed through her teeth.

"Try to relax Melinda;" her Aunt's voice was ever so soothing "Witches powers are tied to their emotions, mostly anger, but when it comes to Whitelighters all you really need is to keep calm. You need to unwind; you know how to make it work."

Phoebe was rather impressed with Paige's careful instructions. For a half Whitelighter that couldn't heal, her baby sister was doing a pretty good job at helping Melinda. Phoebe felt pride filling her in and out as she looked fondly at the redhead witch that stood next to her. Melinda took a deep breath. _Okay, you can do this Mel, you can, _she pep talked herself. She'd done it before, it was only a matter of will. She thought of her Aunts depending on her, of Chris facing the Excalibur all alone, of Wyatt turning evil...

No all these thoughts wouldn't do! Love, Leo always insisted that the one feeling that would unlock her healing power was love. So Melinda remembered of her mother's hug every night before she went to bed. She remembered of Chris and Wyatt taking care of her boyfriend problem in middle school when she found out that Michael Montgomery was cheating on her. She remembered of the orbing sessions she had with Paige and how afterwards her Aunt would always take her out for ice-cream...She didn't even notice the golden glow that appeared underneath her fingertips. The power grew inside of her finding an outlet through her fingers. It spread on Paige's limp body and after a while the youngest Haliwell sister stirred.

"Good job," she admonished her voice hoarse. Melinda's eyes snapped open and she looked down to her Aunt.

"Thank you," she said in a low voice, a million of emotions playing in her eyes. She quickly retrieved her gaze though and turned her attention to Phoebe. The middle Charmed One gasped after a while and sat bolt up.

"Thanks," she said with an appreciative grin to Melinda. The girl inclined her head when she felt it. It was Chris, and boy was he in trouble.

"I need to go," she said jumping up. Paige followed suit but Phoebe needed some help, she had much less time to recollect herself, so the youngest sister lent her a hand.

"We're coming with," Paige said in a non-negotiable tone. Melinda sighed.

"You won't like what you'll see," she warned them before she orbed away knowing that the two sisters would follow her.

* * *

Chris was literally stuck between a rock and a hard place. He could keep himself hidden; avoid using his powers and putting his mission into risk, while knowing that this could only end in a disaster. Or he could do the right thing, as his late Uncle Henry would say, and fight this tooth and nail.

The problem was that he had no idea what he'd do after he came out. Would he be able to take all six demons out? Most probably, but what about Piper? One look on his mother's face and he would let her take his head off with the Excalibur. No, Chris had to come up with some kind of plan, before his time ran out.

"Chris," he heard Melinda's whisper and startled he turned around to see her curled behind a rock to his left. Chris cast a look over to the table and making sure that he wasn't being watched he went to her "So I take it we aren't alone anymore," Melinda said looking at the round table.

"No. What happened?" Chris asked anxiously.

"I managed to heal Paige and Phoebe, Aunty Paige is really good at guiding me through it," Melinda said with a small smile. Chris though was taken aback.

"They needed healing? But I didn't sense anything! How come you did and I didn't? I'm supposed to be their Whitelighter!" Chris said a little bit affronted.

"Oh it has to do more with my witch side not the..." Melinda shut up when she saw Paige and Phoebe materialising in the cavern. Problem was they didn't do so behind a rock, but rather in the middle of the room.

"What is this?" one of the demons demanded making a move to stand up.

"It's a trap! These are the Charmed Ones!" another one quipped his eyes flickering between the sisters.

"Did you bring us here to kill us?" the only female demon in the table question and murmurs started going around the table.

"Be quite!" the Dark knight ordered "Place your hands over the pentacle and then we'll deal with the little pest problem."

"Hey!" Paige exclaimed offended but seeing that they didn't have a potion, or a spell that would work on him unless they convinced Piper to join them, Paige had to let it slide. The demons threw a couple of wary looks at each other but eventually did put their hands over the curving on the table. One by one they burst into a jet of golden light, making the pentacle glow. The power oozed on the shape as if liquid gold and it slowly drew itself towards the Dark Night's hand. He was the only one still alive.

"What are you doing?" Piper demanded and Melinda threw a glance towards her mother to see the sword shinning in her hands.

"Chris you have to call for it," she said but Chris shook his head violently "Chris c'mon, stop being a child..."

"I'm not being a child," Chris snapped his voice harsh "The sword doesn't belong to me anyway so it won't come."

"What?" Melinda asked stupidly, and Chris looked at her face.

"Excalibur is Wyatt's," he said simply and she shook her head in denial.

"No it isn't."

"Yes it is, Lin, what are you on?"

"Chris the sword was never Wyatt's. Mom could take it out of the rock..."

"Because she was the Lady of the Lake and she was meant to pass it to king Arthur when the time was right; the ultimate power on Earth."

"Yes," Melinda agreed "But you forget," she said a glimmer of mirth in her eyes "In the original time line, the one we didn't mess up with, Mom was pregnant with you when the previous Lady of the Lake died."

"No," Chris muttered shaking his head.

"Yes, Chris, she was pregnant and that's why she could pull the sword out, because it was meant for you, only you were kind of preoccupied at the moment," she said with a smile.

"Then why did she pull it out today?"

"Because she's still the Lady of the Lake, she's still your mom. And the only reason why Wyatt and I can somewhat handle the sword is because we share the same blood. Chris, the Excalibur is yours."

All these years. All these deaths he could've stopped. All the times Wyatt had threatened him with the hated weapon. And all this time it was his. It belonged to him. No this couldn't be true, Chris couldn't handle it if it was. He was slowly shaking his head muttering no when Melinda put her hand on his arm.

"Just call for it. The prophecy said that the wielder was the son of a Charmed One...if you're afraid of exposure we can say that you're Aunt Prue's illegitimate child with Andy or something," Melinda mumbled and she noticed that Chris was looking at her incredulously "Just please," she begged.

Chris lowered his gaze. If it was true then he'd let so many innocent people die because of his own stupidity. He'd never questioned whether Wyatt was really the son the prophecy talked about. He just guessed that because he was the Twice-Blessed child he was also the one to inherit the Excalibur. But it had never occurred to him that there were never two different prophecies regarding the same person, even if that person was as powerful as his brother.

Phoebe's anguished cry pierced through him and his head snapped up. He felt his stomach falling to his knees in the sight and he registered faintly Melinda's shrieking reaction. The blood glimmered on the silver blade and Piper's face grew paler and paler as the Dark Knight held the sword inside her body, far longer than needed.

"No!" Chris yelled and he raised his hand.

The demon crashed back against the wall of the cave the sword flying away from his hand. Phoebe and Paige quickly rushed to their sister's side, but Melinda was stood frozen in place. The demon was quickly back to his feet but Chris was too angry to let him off that easily. Chris flicked his hand and he slammed against the wall again. He clenched his fist and the demon started trembling, gasping for breath, clawing at his neck as if to pry away invisible hands.

Chris lowered his hand to let him down before he quickly span it upwards in a fluid motion. The demon crashed on the ceiling with a sickening sound that made Chris smile. He let him fall on the ground of the cavern like a rugged doll. Chris eyed the fallen sword which was smeared with his mother's blood. The revulsion in him was so great that for a second he was sure he was going to throw up. Until the demon stirred.

"Excalibur," Chris called in a cool voice and the sword orbed in his hand.

* * *

**A/N: Yeah it's been done a lot before, the story about Excalibur being Chris', but I had to do it because I do believe it's true. I mean the prophecy didn't SAY that it was Wyatt's...Anyway, this was a short one, but I'll probably update tomorrow, is that good enough? I hope it is.**


	11. Chapter 11

**Disclaimer: I don't own the series Charmed or any of the original characters. **

**A/N: My finals are literally killing me! Why do I need to know Latin in order to teach history? I don't get it! Anyway, here's the chapter, enjoy!**

* * *

"Excalibur," Chris called in a cool voice and the sword orbed in his hand.

As soon as his fingers wrapped around the hilt, a golden glow engulfed them both. Chris had never felt anything like it before. The Excalibur pulsed with magic, it made his blood run faster in his veins, made his own powers built to a pit inside of him. He swung his hand around drawing a whooshing sound from the blade as it sliced through the air.

"What do you think you are doing boy?" the demon was now back on his feet glaring towards him. Chris tried to get everything in perspective but he just couldn't. He knew that he should be worried about Piper, about his identity being exposed, about Wyatt, about the whole damn world. But right at that moment all that mattered was the sword in his hands, the piece of history that belonged to him. Not to his older brother.

"I said, what do you think you're doing?" the demon said again. Chris turned his jade green eyes to him.

"Claiming my birth right," he said offhandedly "Although technically that's incorrect, seeing as I'm not yet born," he mused.

"The Excalibur doesn't belong to you," the Dark Knight said with conviction extending his hand. But the sword didn't go to him. Chris chuckled almost delighted.

"Uh-huh, I see someone forgot to do his homework," he admonished brandishing the sword.

"But it can't be!"

"Nah, you see, the prophecy said 'the son of a Charmed One', now that's not very specific, is it?" he questioned raising his eyebrows "God, you got to love prophecies!" Chris said looking fondly at the sword "We just all assumed that it was Wyatt, you know what with him being the Twice-Blessed and all," Chris shrugged "Apparently we were wrong."

Melinda felt a hand connecting with her cheek. The pain worked slowly its way to her mind and she jumped startled to see Paige's tear streaked face looking at her square in the eyes. Melinda swallowed and her eyes turned to the fallen form of her mother, resting in a pool of her own blood. Paige silently expected for her reaction, but Melinda just couldn't bring herself to do it. What if she couldn't? What if she tried and it wasn't enough? Could she live with that?

"You have to try," Paige pleaded with her.

"Can't we call Leo?"

"We tried already, there must be some kind of spell over the cavern," Paige said looking around the rocky cave.

Melinda stood up her legs trembling. She walked slowly towards her Aunt Phoebe; she was cradling her sister's head in her arms, rocking her body back and forth while crying, clearly in shock. Melinda bit back a sob when she saw her mother's blank face. Piper was so pale, she looked so stiff, what if it was already too late? Thoughts of Leo standing over her mom's unmoving body, things that she'd never seen and yet knew that were true, flashed in her mind and she flinched. No she wasn't like her fahter, she wouldn't stand doing nothing while her mother drifted away. She couldn't lose her again.

"But you can't be King Arthur! Wyatt is the most powerful being in creation!" the Dark Night bellowed and Chris smirked.

"Right, I'm just his little brother," he said before he flicked the wrist he was holding the sword with, took a step forward and thrust it in the Dark Night's chest.

Melinda's fingers tingled but the power was not quite there. She could feel it slipping away from her and she desperately tried to hold on to it but it was difficult, much more difficult than with Phoebe and Paige. "Chris!" she yelled in desperation.

The sword fell from his hands in his sister's cry. The demon was dealt with and now the reality was settling back into him. He ran over to Melinda and noticed that she was having troubles with her healing.

"Why didn't you call for Leo?" he demanded from his Aunts before falling to his knees next to his sister.

"We can't," Paige said simply. She didn't really know what had happened. One minute the demon was sprouting nonsensical stupidities about the sword belonging to the son of a Charmed One, then her sister was stabbed, and then Chris somehow called Excalibur to him and ended the Dark Night.

"Chris," Melinda said again not wanting him to drift into shock again "Help," she half ordered half begged.

Chris raised his hands over his mother's body but nothing happened. Not that he expected anything better. But she couldn't die! He wasn't conceived yet and if he was never born then no one was to come back and prevent Wyatt from turning Evil. Melinda took a hold of his hand and he felt her in his mind. He was pretty sure that Melinda told him she wasn't a telepath so he couldn't quite understand how she was doing what she was doing but she was there. Her presence was rather calming in the havoc that was the inside of his head.

Melinda could feel the barriers within his mind coming down. Slowly, but they were. She didn't push harder in fear of him closing off. She tried not to pry too much in his mind; Chris hated it when either she or Wyatt did so, and that was one of the reasons they decided to close off the link that their siblinghood provided. The warmth that spread all over him made Chris smile unconsciously. It started in his belly and then moved upwards in his torso and downwards to his legs. It blinded him behind his closed eyelids. He wanted to scream in excitement and cry in pain all at the same time.

Just like with Excalibur this was a completely new sensation for Chris. Whereas with the sword he felt more powerful than ever before, now he felt like he was ready to burst with emotions. Hatred, despair, happiness, numbness, love, they all mingled in him creating a whirlwind of feelings. The predominant one was love. It rushed through him, blinded him, deafened him, rendered him speechless finding a way out through his fingers.

Piper was coughing, turning her head this way and that, and Melinda fell back on her knees with an exhausted sigh. She didn't know that healing someone could be so tiring. She brought her hand up to her head and massaged her temples in slow circular motions.

"Chris?" Paige said concerned. Her voice jolted Melinda who realised that she was still in her brother's mind. Chris' eyes were glazed over, the glow still going strong under his hands. Melinda scrambled closer to him forcefully pulling out of his mind. After a minute or so Chris screamed out in pain, he wobbled on his knees and then fell on his side, a loud thudding echoing in the cavern.

"Chris!" Phoebe yelled kneeling beside the young Whitelighter. She reached for his pulse point; it was still there, steady and strong.

"He's alright," Melinda said after a quick check on him "He's just exhausted, Chris was never good at controlling his healing power," she said shaking her head a little.

"I thought Chris couldn't heal," Paige said crossing her arms over her chest. Phoebe wanted to laugh when she saw the deer-caught-in-headlights look in Melinda's face.

"How is it possible for a Whitelighter not to control his healing power?" Piper asked, raising her body by leaning on her elbows.

"It's kind of a long story and I would rather discuss it somewhere else," Melinda said looking around. Paige nodded and without a lot of pondering she grabbed Phoebe's hand and laid her other one on Piper's shoulder.

Melinda exhaled and stilled herself for a long second. This was close. A little bit too close for her likings. Did this happen in the first time line as well? Was her mother stubbed while pregnant with Chris? Had she come so close to growing with one brother instead of two? Melinda shivered in fear. Chris was still unconscious but his breathing was even. He'd put too much of himself in the healing, he'd exhausted himself in a matter of speak. Considering that he also had to control Excalibur not five minutes ago it was understandable. Melinda pushed some hair out of his face and stared at him for a while.

"Excalibur," she called out and the sword orbed in her hand. Chaos, distraction, pain and death, the thoughts infiltrated her mind as the sword shook in her hand. Melinda tried to push the thoughts away from her mind. She touched Chris' leg and orbed away.

* * *

Paige was in the middle of explaining to Leo what had happened; as well as she could under the circumstances, when she heard the familiar by now sound of orbing, and then another one of metal colliding with marble. Wyatt fussed in his father's arms and Leo rocked him up and down to keep him from crying. Phoebe jumped up and ran out of the kitchen and into the conservatory quickly followed by Paige and Piper who needed a little more time to get up.

As quickly as she was back in the Manor, Melinda dropped the sword and let a sigh of relief. Chris was lying on the floor next to her and she was about to orb him on one of the couches when her Aunts came in.

"Is he okay? What happened?" the concerned tone in Leo's voice brought a growl out of her that she tried to pass off as coughing. Leo handed Wyatt over to Piper who hugged him close and went to Melinda, kneeling next to her.

"He's alright," Melinda said not really feeling like she needed to give him any sort of explanation "He's just exhausted..."

"By using his healing power on Piper," Leo said his green eyes filling with realisation.

"And handling the sword," Melinda said without thinking.

"The sword..." Leo trailed off a bit confused before his eyes fell on the weapon "Excalibur?" Melinda nodded.

"Yeah, which brings back the subject, how could Chris do this?" Phoebe asked and Melinda looked down at her brother willing him to wake up.

"Anyone can use the sword once it's out of the stone," Melinda lied through her teeth.

"That's not true, I couldn't," Piper said a bit defensively.

"Yes she couldn't and she is the Lady of the Lake," Paige said waggling her eyebrows "And let's not forget one of the Charmed Ones."

"Chris said something about the son of a Charmed One being the one to inherit the sword," Phoebe said remembering the conversation between Chris and the Dark Knight she managed to overhear while holding Piper's body. Melinda's cheeks flushed red and she looked down biting on her lip. She'd done it again. It was her fault. If she hadn't rush off to Paige and Phoebe they would've finished off with the Dark Knight long before her Aunts came over. Chris' mission was in jeopardy and he had only her to blame.

"Melinda," Piper's snide tone brought her back to reality.

"Erh, he's Prue and Andy's illegitimate love child?" she tried but the sisters reacted just like Chris when she suggested it "Look, I'm sorry, but I can't tell you, it's not my secret to share," Melinda said the resignation obvious in her voice.

"So let me get this straight," Paige's tone was cut, her eyes narrowed "Chris, is family?" Melinda remained silent "Which inadvertently means you are family."

"Please, don't," Melinda begged with them. Phoebe brought her hand up to her chest, knowing her eyes were growing misty. The pain and guilt that was pouring off of the girl was impossible to bare.

"Pheebs, are you okay?" Piper asked her but her middle sister shook her head in a silent no.

Chris stirred bringing Melinda's attention back to him. She bent over his body, her hands cupping his face.

"Chris?" she muttered the tears trickling down her face. His eyes flattered a little and then they snapped open and she tried to smile through the thick water drops forming in her eyes.

"Lin?" he said confused. They weren't in the cavern anymore that much was sure. His back hurt and he was beginning to feel cold; he was lying on the floor.

"I'm sorry, Chris, I'm so sorry," Melinda cried hugging him where he lay. Chris' confusion increased tenfold as he tried to console the crying girl in his arms.

"Lin, shh, it's okay," he whispered in her ear but Melinda shook her head.

"No it's not. I shouldn't have left," she said vehemently. What was wrong with her? She used to think before act but one trip in the past and everything changed! Melinda was never this reckless.

"Hey, whatever happened, I bet it's not so bad," he said, his voice light but it only served for her sobs to get harder.

Leo didn't know what to think. Melinda's overreaction had brought them all up to a pause. The questions echoed in his mind, unanswered and yet he couldn't pry the young woman away from Chris and start interrogating her. His eyes travelled over to his ex-wife and her sisters. Piper looked judt as confused. Like every other person in the room, excluding Melinda, she couldn't fathom what had gone so wrong. The girl was crying as if someone had died and yet they were all fine, and the demon was killed. Wyatt cried out demanding her attention and she rocked him a little to calm him down but it didn't seem to work.  
Paige was more concerned with Phoebe than Melinda. Her sister was crying silently, her arms wrapped around her body as if she was in pain. When she made to touch her Phoebe flinched and her hand dropped by her side. Dejected, Paige only could look at the scene unravelling before her.

"Lin, you're bringing Wyatt down," Chris said after a long while of silence. Melinda tensed. Wyatt...Piper was still there, they all were. She pulled back quickly, fresh tears in her eyes, and looked guiltily down at her brother. She shook her head lightly and after relishing a soft sob she orbed away. "Can someone explain to me what happened?" Chris asked looking at his family, pushing himself on his elbows.

"You passed out," Paige provided him the answer.

"Yes I gathered that much..."

"You helped Melinda with healing Piper and then you passed out," Paige corrected herself "Then Melinda brought you here and..." she pointed towards him and shrugged.

"Okay, that doesn't make any sense," Chris said looking at his youngest Aunt. Paige made a small grimace.

"Well it might have to do something with us asking a couple of questions."

"Questions?" Chris asked fearing the response.

"Why you could handle Excalibur," Piper said and he flinched.

"Why wouldn't I? I mean you did it," he tried to stall them as the cogs turned in his mind.

"Not for long, it corrupted me pretty quickly," Piper said and looked at Wyatt who was eerily silent. Chris' eyes also turned to the baby who had stopped crying the moment Melinda orbed out.

"I didn't hold it for so long," Chris kept up his pretences. He needed to get out of there. He needed to go find his sister.

"The demon," Phoebe's voice was hoarse, her cheeks tear streaked "The demon said something about you and Wyatt..."

"Since when do you care what demons say?" Chris snapped "Demons lie, that's what they do. I thought you knew better than to listen to what they have to say. Now I have to go find Mel," he added quickly. Leo's hand on his shoulder stopped him.

"We have questions."

"Yes, and I cannot provide the answers for you, sorry," he shrugged his hand off and orbed to the Golden Gate bridge.

"You're contemplating jumping?" he asked and Melinda did jump; backwards, her hand flying to her chest.

"You scared me," she said her tone accusing.

"Well, you did reveal my identity," he said tilting his head on the side.

"No I didn't," Melinda refused weakly. Chris raised his eyebrows "I know I am so stupid! I'm sorry Chris! I really am...I..."

"It's okay," Chris cut her off walking the few steps that separated them to stand next to her.

"But I thought you didn't want them to know."

"I didn't, I still don't. I'll come up with something to tell them, or we'll use a memory spell," Chris said shrugging. Melinda's cheeks blushed furiously.

"Now why didn't **I **think off the memory spell?"

"Because I'm the smartest out of the two of us," Chris said cheekily relieved that she was back to normal "But I can't have you freaking out on me."

"I know, I'm sorry...Listen to me! I sound like a broken record," she gave him a dry chuckle "I am sorry though, I never meant for any of this to happen."

"Lin, I know, okay?" he said putting an arm around her shoulders and pulling her to him "It will be okay, trust me."

"I do," she said quickly and Chris smiled despite already knowing that "And I'm gonna help you, with Wyatt. If I can't fix my reality, then I am gonna make sure I'll fix your future," Melinda said looking up to her brother's face.

"But what about your time line?"

"Oh, trust you me, Chris and Wyatt are more than capable of keeping themselves and the rest of the family alive," Melinda reassured him.

"Still I think we should try and find a way to get you back."

"Okay, we can work on that too," she agreed with a nod. Chris looked down at the city lights for a moment before remembering something that troubled him back in the cave.

"How come you could feel Phoebe and Paige being hurt and I couldn't?"

"Ah, as I said, it wasn't the Whitelighter part of me; it's a passive power, something like Aunt Phoebe's premonitions but not nearly as powerful, or correct," she said with a shake of her head "I sometimes see dreams that come true, or I have a feeling about something happening only minutes before it happens, which is not very helpful."

"Well, it did help the Aunts."

"They could always call for Leo."

"Why didn't they?"

"Paige wanted to give me a shot," Melinda said remembering her Aunt's words. Accepting her response Chris nodded and remained silent. Melinda bit on her lip; maybe coming forward with everything wasn't such a bad idea.

* * *

**A/N: Not much happened in this chapter I know, but don't blame me, blame the finals :p Till I see you again, take care!**


	12. Chapter 12

**Disclaimer: I don't own the series Charmed or any of the original characters. **

**A/N: This is the beginning of the next chapter, I would call it a teaser because it's so short...I don't know when I'll be able to post again (finals suck and I have two more weeks of them)...Anyway, I'm sorry that it's so short...**

* * *

I am lying on my bed, eyes pinned on the ceiling above me. Sleep is elusive, just like every other night since this nightmare started. I am still trying to wrap my head around it, trying to understand when everything got so messed up. Well...I say when, I do know when. I just don't know why. My father was never a role model, far from it. But he was never an evil dictator either. He was moody and absent, he forgot about us and then tried to make up for it but failed miserably. But the man was never a part of our lives so we didn't really care. And then mom died...

My chest heaves, as my heart constricts and I press my fist down on it, biting on my lip so hard so that I draw blood. It's all just so painful to remember and not knowing what Leo's role in it was is driving me positively mad. I turn on my side and my eyes fall on the shape lying on the make do bed at the other side of my room. The blond mop of Anwen's hair shine as the moon light dances over her head. I feel my heart fluttering again but now for an entirely different reason. Inappropriate as it is at the time being I only want to slip in the bed next to her and hold her. I know she's afraid, that's why she didn't want to sleep in Melinda's room all by herself.

At the thought of my sister, my mother's little angel, I feel disgusted with myself. She's missing, and all I can think about is my secret feelings for Anwen. I must suck as an older brother. What good is it being Twice Blessed and all if I cannot even save my own sister? I shut my eyes and reach out for her. Her constant, vibrant presence is now dull and it scares me. I have to find her before it's too late. Before Leo is back. Before anything happens to her. Even that little dull sign that proves she's still there is comforting.

I remember of her infectious smile, her witty comebacks, the unique way she shows her love, how loyal she's and I desperately want her back. Melinda is the glue that keeps Chris and me together, she's our anchor to the world, the one who keeps insisting that we should fight, that not everything is lost. She's taken mom's place and I'm just so grateful to have her in my life.

The tiny signal of my sister still being alive goes off. The warning alarms in my head start up instantly. I sit straight on my bed, my breathing quickening and I look around helplessly. What did just happen?

"Chris!" I hiss in the silence of my brother's bedroom and he murmurs something in his sleep changing sides. Now that Leo is gone we have a chance to some much needed rest and I hesitate to wake him up. But I know that he'll be furious with me if I don't "Chris, wake up!" I insist shaking his shoulder.  
My brother sighs, and his green eyes crack open glaring at me. My face must be enough of an explanation for his expression changes quickly as he pushes himself on his elbows, slightly worried.

"What's wrong Wy?" he demands.

"I can't sense Melinda," I say fearfully and I see his face turning ashen white.

* * *

Melinda groaned once she came to. The whole room was spinning around, faster, and faster, and faster. She brought her hand to her head and refrained from moving; she didn't want to throw up. Finally, the faltering drumbeat inside her head faded to a dull roar, and she managed to manoeuvre her aching body into a sitting position. The hand she held on her forehead was sticky and she pulled it away to see that it was covered in blood. At least there didn't seem to be a fracture in her skull.

Her eyes slowly adjusted to the dim light and she looked about; trying to figure out exactly where she was. The ceiling was tilted, and the windows were tinted with colour. The floor was wooden and there was an old dirty rag covering half the space. She was still in the attic so that was good, right?

The crystals placed around her body told her another story. The stones were jet black, not white like the ones she replaced just that morning. She slowly extended her hand towards the invisible barriers of her crystal cage but immediately drew it back as a painful zap of electricity buzzed through her nervous system.

Orbing was quite obviously out of the question, but she stood up and tried anyway, unfortunately only receiving another buzzing for her efforts. Stubborn as Melinda was, she sat back down and started flickering her hands towards one of the crystals. Every time she did though she got buzzed.

Twenty minutes later she gave up. Her head was still hurting her and she wasn't sure whether the bleeding had stopped or not. Her body hurt, it felt like she was struck by a truck! Melinda closed her eyes and willed herself to fall asleep, maybe this was a bad, bad nightmare and when she woke up for real she'd be back home.

* * *

**A/N: That was it...so, you wanna start taking guesses about what's gonna happen? If you think you're on to something, let me know!**


	13. Chapter 13

**Disclaimer: I don't own the series Charmed or any of the original characters. **

**A/N: So, the following chapters will be kinda crazy because there's A LOT of jumping between the time lines, so I give you a fair warning. Okay? Ok!**

* * *

_Twenty minutes later she gave up. Her head was still hurting her and she wasn__'__t sure whether the bleeding had stopped or not. Her body hurt, it felt like she was struck by a truck! Melinda closed her eyes and willed herself to fall asleep, maybe this was a bad, bad nightmare and when she woke up for real she__'__d be back home._

**12 hours ago**

"Just try to focus your power," Melinda instructed and Iris nodded. In Iris' living room all the furniture that were of importance had been removed. Only an ugly vase of purple and orange colours rested on the floor some five feet away from them. Iris took a deep breath and holding hard as she could on her power she opened her eyes and looked at the vase, extending her hand. A spark appeared that grew bigger to the point of a flaming candle but then instead of forming into a ball it disappeared. Iris huffed in annoyance her shoulders hunching.

"Okay, I suck," she gave in, her head falling forward.

"No, no, none of that," Melinda refused to accept the defeated tone of Iris' voice. She sat on the floor in front of her charge and looked her deep in the eye "I know you can do it."

"Easy for you to say!" Iris snapped "You just look at the damn vase and blow it up!"

"First of, no, not even my mom could do that," Melinda said feeling a pang of nostalgia as she remembered the effortless way her mother used her powers "And believe me, it wasn't always so easy. You just need some more practise."

After the Excalibur incident, two days ago, Melinda had taken refuge in Iris' house. She didn't respond to Phoebe's numerous calls and didn't show her face in the Manor. She did however let Chris know where she lived, deciding to let him dissolve the situation. Iris was a life saver. She didn't ask questions, she was supportive and fun to be around and she needed her help. Iris' had the power to create and throw fire-balls but she hadn't yet mastered the ability to form a ball of fire let alone throw it. Melinda suspected that the witch was purposefully tripping herself but she couldn't yet understand why. Melinda groaned as Paige's voice ringed loud in her head. She gritted her teeth and put her on mute knowing very well that it'd do her no good against her Aunt's powers.

"They're calling for you again?" Iris asked her voice low.

Melinda nodded. On her first night in Iris' house Melinda had gotten herself drank. It was a stupid thing to do, she knew that, but she couldn't help it. She felt guilty for almost exposing Chris, she was afraid about her brothers, she was angry with herself for freaking out like she did...A bottle of whiskey sounded like a good idea. She'd drunk only a glass and she was done for. When Iris found her she was crying. The redhead witch sat by her side and tried to calm her down. Eventually when Melinda did allow herself to stop crying she started talking and was unable to stop. So now Iris knew the whole truth about her, about Chris and his mission, about pretty much everything. Aside from Anwen, Melinda was lucid enough to withhold this particular information.

"Maybe you should go," Iris said looking at the younger girl. Melinda shook her head feverously.

"No, they don't really need me," she took a deep breath and put her hands on Iris shoulders "Close your eyes," she said and Iris hesitated for a second "They are just going to ask questions that I cannot answer, so I'm not going," Iris nodded and closed her eyes "Okay, deep breaths. I want you to concentrate, I want you to find your power. It's a light, a glow, deep in your mind. Reach for it, hold on to it, let it consume you," Melinda said, knowing rather well she was trading a thin line; instructing someone to be consumed by his power was a definite way to get your wings clipped.

Iris' breath deepened as she allowed the dim blue glow to enter her mind. It made her shiver all the way to her toes and her fingers prickled. It pushed her own thoughts away and took presence in her mind, engulfing her whole self. Iris wasn't so certain she liked the feeling.

"Okay, now, relax," Melinda said noticing how Iris' hands clenched "Relax, control your breathing, that's the way...Good, good," Melinda climbed on her knees and crawled to Iris side "Raise your hand and open your eyes, look at the vase and just let go."

Iris took a deep breath and opened her eyes. She blinked trying to get rid of the spots that obscured her view. The vase stood there, tall and whole, mocking her. Okay, maybe it didn't mock her, but it definitely felt like it was doing so; she'd been trying to set it on fire for hours now! She raised her hand, her fingers stretched and let go. It was like letting go off an elastic rubber; it threw her out of balance. The fire that shot in her palm scared the daylights out of her. It quickly formed into a sphere and tilting her fingers just by a fraction it escaped her grasp. Iris yelped excited as the fire crashed on the vase making it explode on impact. Melinda grinned and clapped her in the back as Iris scrambled to her feet and started dancing around.

"Did you see that? I did it!" she yelled and Melinda giggled.

"Yeah, you definitely did."

"I've never, done that! The most I ever did was light a candle and even that was..."

"Unintentional, I know, you've told me before," Melinda finished her sentence nodding. Iris beamed. She sobered though when she saw her Whitelighter flinching.

"You are leaving," Iris stated peering at her.

"What? No, I'm staying here."

"Nah, you ain't. You are done hiding out; you are going home, now." Melinda crossed her arms over her chest and huffed.

"You can't order me around, you're not my mom," she said defiantly raising her chin.

"No but I'm older..."

"Only by a year!" Melinda exclaimed and Iris fixed her with a glare.

"And from what you said I'm your Aunt's best friend..."

"Not for another six years, you aren't."

"Are you always so aggressive?" Iris questioned tilting her head on the side. Melinda's cheeks turned slightly red "I take that as a yes...Look, I think you should go. Face the music. They won't stop calling unless you show up," Iris advised patting her shoulder. Melinda sighed her strong facade falling off.

"I'm scared," she admitted and Iris in impulse pulled her in a hug.

"I know you are," she said close to her ear "But if pull comes to shove you can always tell them who you are, or just orb out. I just think you should give them a chance." Melinda let another sigh. She wanted to trust them, she did trust them. She was scared though; she didn't know how long she could keep up pretences if her family pressed, she wasn't as strong as Chris was, no matter what her brother believed.

"Okay fine," she condescended, Iris gave her a smile "You don't move the crystals, and you call me if anything happens."

"Yes _mom_."

"Ha ha, so funny...not," Melinda scoffed and Iris stuck out her tongue "I want you to keep practicing, alright? And don't get upset if you don't get it again, you need time," Melinda's voice was persuasive and low; a trick she'd picked up from Wyatt whenever he tried to make her do what he wanted.

"Okay," Iris replied without a witty comeback.

"Ok...here goes nothing," Melinda said and with a final smirk she orbed out.

She should've guessed that something was wrong when she saw both her Aunts and her mom standing behind the book, with Leo playing guard to their left. She should've trusted the bad feeling that burst in her chest the moment she re-materialised in the attic. But she didn't, because she had made up her mind to trust her family.

"What's up?" she asked aloofly hoping against hope that they wouldn't be in interrogation mode.

"Piper..." Paige said looking to her older sister with an expression of resignation.

"No, Paige, we talked about it," Piper said her voice strong.

Paige looked at Melinda's face, the bright eyes, the loose smile, and sighed before she made a motion with her hand and called "Crystals."  
Melinda blinked. She hadn't seen the crystals that were placed around her. The crystals buzzed, as the last one that Paige dropped in front of her closed the circle.

"What are you doing?" she asked and Phoebe pulled slightly back. The amount of pain and anger that she got off of Melinda unsettled her.

"What we should have done months ago with Chris." Piper answered.

"Maybe we shouldn't..." Paige tried again but Piper's look silenced her.

Paige didn't want to do this. They had no reason, or right, to pry in Melinda's life. It was totally wrong, and an abuse of their powers. The whole thing screamed personal gain but Piper and Leo refused to acknowledge it. Phoebe had given in pretty quickly, something that Paige didn't like the slightest. She could somehow see where Piper was coming from, what with Wyatt being in danger and all, but she hoped that Phoebe would take her side and help her make their sister realize that what they were about to do shouldn't be done. Phoebe though caved.

**"For those who want the truth revealed**

**Open their heart and secrets unseal**

**From now until it's now again**

**From now which the memories end**

**For those who are now in this house**

**Only truth will be heard from their mouths."**

Melinda saw the glow of her family's spell lift off them and travel through the air towards her. She wished for something to happen at that moment; a demon attack, an earth quake, something! But nothing did. The spell descended on her, making her quiver on her feet. Phoebe was looking at her with a rueful smile, Paige was gazing at her feet her expression angry, but Piper gazed straight in her eyes.

It hurt. It was her mother's decision to use the truth spell on her, it was quite obvious. Melinda knew that Piper had no reason to trust her. She knew that after the stand she and Chris pulled with Excalibur the sisters would've questions, she knew how overprotective the eldest Charmed One could get. But the fact that her own mother had used a spell to get answers out of her hurt more than any demon attack could ever hurt.

"You shouldn't have done that," Melinda whispered, willing herself to remain strong.

"You didn't give us another choice," Phoebe tried to defend their actions but the emotional response that came from Melinda nearly knocked her over.

"You don't know what you've done," the girl shook her head.

"You had your chance to speak freely," Piper told her and Melinda avoided her face; she just couldn't look at her at the moment without breaking down "And you didn't. We need some answers, and we'll get them," when Melinda didn't answer Piper nodded to herself "Okay, so Chris..."

"This truth spell is about me," Melinda cut her off "I'm not going to answer any questions about Chris."

"You don't get to decide the questions," Leo spoke for the first time and Melinda glared at him angrily.

"Oh yeah? Just watch me!"

"Fine, no Chris questions," Piper yelled and Melinda flinched taking a step back "What's your name then?" Melinda scoffed. Of course that would've been their first question, wouldn't it?

"Melinda," she said calmly.

"What's your last name?" Phoebe pressed. Melinda bit on her tongue and pressed her lips together trying desperately to keep the words inside; but this was a Power of Three spell.

"Melinda Haliwell Turner," she said and then swore through her teeth.

"Turner?" Phoebe stuttered at the same moment that the other three yelled,

"Haliwell?"

"So you are family?" Paige asked her eyes for the first time after they cast the spell wandering over to her face.

"Yes."

"Which means that Chris is family too," Paige muttered mostly to herself while nodding.

"But you all ready knew that, from the whole Excalibur debacle," Melinda said crossing her arms over her chest.

"Why did you come back?" Piper asked. The fact that Melinda was a Haliwell didn't faze her as much as she thought it would. Somehow she knew from the beginning that the girl was part of the family, maybe because of her resemblance to Prue. Still that didn't mean she trusted the girl, or that she'd go any easier on her because she was family.

"I didn't come back by choice, it was an accident," Melinda said her eyes finding Paige's.

"But I thought you came with information for Chris," Phoebe muttered surprised. Melinda frowned; hadn't they already been through that? It didn't matter.

"Well I didn't! I was out in a demon hunt with Anwen and then one moment I was there and the next I wasn't! I fell into a time portal."

"Time portal?"

"I'm sure you know what they are, Piper," she said her mother's name hard.

"Time portals do not just happen to be around. Only Elders can create them," Leo said and Melinda nodded in agreement.

"Yeah, **he **is using them as a way of punishment."

"Punishment?" Piper wondered.

"Demon hunting is illegal in my future, as is witch killing. That doesn't stop either side from trying. There are certain zones where the hunting takes place, that's where the portals are. They usually transport the victim back to..." she stopped herself at the last moment and chose her words carefully "to his lair, where he first tortures and then kills them," technically it wasn't a lie.

"He, you said, he," Phoebe stepped in "Who is he?"

"You don't want to know," Melinda warned.

"Well, if we ask, then we must do," Piper insisted.

Melinda snapped. She was angrier than she thought. She was so good at hiding her feelings after all these years of war that the rage that burst through her was surprising. She looked at her mother, the woman she lost all those years ago, at her Aunt Phoebe, who was always there when she needed her, at her Aunt Paige, who still fought a lost fight, and last at her father the man that had let her down so many times. She knew that Chris hadn't told them that Wyatt was terrorizing the world that he grew up in, but she didn't care, if they wanted answers, she'd give them answers.

"Why don 't I better show you, huh?" she questioned and Phoebe didn't like at all the look on her face "Oh and should I add that Chris and I are from a different time lines? Even if you didn't ask I thought you should know that before we proceed so let's get to it!

**"Hear these words, hear my cry, witches from the other side**

**The questions answer in their mind**

**What I've seen let them see**

**In my memories let them be."**

* * *

Chris jolted up, instantly attracting the demon's attention. A fire ball flew his way, one that he easily deflected. The demon screamed in pain but the sound didn't really register to the young witch. There was something wrong in the Manor. Checking around to make sure that he was alone, Chris orbed home.

His heart fell when he saw his family members on the floor. He ran to his mother, turned her on her back, and tried to heal her. But there was nothing to heal; Piper appeared to be perfectly fine. Confused Chris went to check his Aunts and his sister. They were all perfectly fine but he couldn't wake them up.

"What did you do Lin?" he asked leaning over his sister.

* * *

Piper blinked against the darkness afraid she was going blind. She reached out her hand in search of Phoebe's or Paige's but instead she only found Leo's. He squeezed it reassuringly and she calmed somewhat down before she remembered that they'd left Wyatt alone back in the Manor. "Wyatt is all alone," she spoke out loud.

"Relax, Chris is with him right now," Melinda said in the darkness attempting to understand how the hell she was supposed to make this thing work.

"And this is supposed to reassure me, how?" Piper said snidely and Melinda scoffed.

The shades around them shifted swiftly and they were out in a park, down by the Harbour Front. Melinda frowned for a second until she realized how the change occurred; she was just thinking about the numerous times that Chris had Wyatt's back ready to defend her brother against Piper's wrong accusations, and then everything changed. She was in control of this, it was her memories they were revisiting.

"Hey, I know this park! Dad used to bring me down here," Paige said her eyes lighting up with warmth. Melinda swallowed the lump in her throat.

She was about to say something when a small boy, around nine years old ran right passed her his sort legs running fast as they could. Melinda heard a second pair of footsteps and sure enough a dark haired seven year old, was chasing behind him.

_"Wy, wait!" he yelled, his breathing coming hard, but didn't slow down, nor did Wyatt._

"Is that Wyatt?" Piper asked her eyes turning wide as she took in her little boy, a joyous expression on her face.

"Yeah, can you guess who the other one is?" Melinda absentmindedly asked looking after her two older brothers.

_"Wyatt, come on, stop being stubborn!" Chris yelled his tone growing angrier._ Wyatt didn't respond as he dashed on the street. The sound of a honk filled their ears, there was a collective gasp, and Melinda saw Piper's hands twitching in an attempt to stop what was coming.

And it stopped. Piper looked down at her hands surprised, but Melinda shook her head. Chris was standing at the edge of the road, panting, his hands outstretched towards the blond. Wyatt as surprised as Piper was, looked at the front of the truck, a hair away from his face and then back at the younger boy unable to understand what had just happened.

"Chris did that?" Phoebe asked astonished looking at the small boy. Melinda nodded "But he's a Whitelighter!"

"He is half a Whitelighter, half a witch," Melinda explained turning to her Aunt "Just like me."

* * *

**A/N: It's not a really long chapter, but I think I'll update in the next couple of days again...Anyway thanks for reading!**


	14. Chapter 14

**Disclaimer: I don't own the series Charmed or any of the original characters. **

**A/N: It's not a really long chapter, and I'm sorry about that, but I find this part of the story extra hard to write. I hope you at least like it...**

* * *

"_He is half a Whitelighter, half a witch,__"__ Melinda explained turning to her Aunt __"__Just like me.__"_

"Chris has my powers," Piper noticed her mouth hanging slightly open, but Melinda shook her head.

"No, that one is mine," she mumbled. Piper gasped not really knowing what to make out of it "He...he tapped into my power to stop the truck," she explained.

"This is a different time line though, it doesn't prove that we can trust Chris in ours," Leo spoke still trying to wrap his head around the fact that Wyatt and Chris knew each other since they were kids.

"As an Elder I thought you'd know the answer to this. Both mine and Chris' time lines haven't yet happened for you, therefore they both should be considered alternate and parallel universes, they are the two outcomes that came out of one certain event," her eyes unintentionally turned to Piper for a second.

"Yes but there has to be a diversion point," Leo said.

"And there is, but up to that point, everything is practically the same. And there are some similarities even afterwards," Melinda concurred.

"Your power," Piper said finally and Melinda's gaze turned to her "My power is your power?"

Before Melinda could provide some kind of an answer the setting around them changed. Feeling a bit dizzy, Paige steadied herself by holding on to Piper's shoulder. When the world stop turning around her head she noticed that they were back at the Manor, in the conservatory. Paige gasped. A few feet away was standing another, version of her. She was definitely older, but Paige couldn't make out how much in the future she was seeing. A young girl was sitting on the couch, her dark hair caught in a ponytail.

"Is that you?" Piper questioned. Melinda gave an affirmative nod and focused on the scene.

_"But I wanted to go with them!" the younger version of Melinda was nagging. Paige huffed and sat next to her, patting the girl's knee._

_"I know sweetheart, but the hospital is no place for little children."_

_"Chris went!"_

_"Chris went because he is ill," Paige said and her eyes darkened for a long second before she smiled to the girl "Hey, I have an idea, would you like to practise on your orbing?"_

_"Yeah!" Melinda said excitedly bouncing up and down on her seat. Paige chuckled at the sight._

"You do definitely look close," Phoebe observed her voice kind of distant; Melinda looked so much like Prue at that age that at first Phoebe thought that they had somehow transported back in the past.

_"Okay, so, stand there," Paige said pushing Melinda in the middle of the room "Now, close your eyes. Think really hard that you want to go to the kitchen. Picture the house and pin point exactly where the kitchen is."_

"I never had a problem with orbing," Melinda admitted smiling as she saw her younger self's face twitching in concentration "I had some issues with direction, but not with orbing in and out."

"Then why..." Paige started and Melinda flashed her a smile, cutting her off.

"I loved our sessions."

_"Hah!" Melinda orbed next to the table and exclaimed loudly "I did it!" then she lost her step and crashed on the table._

_The vase on top of it wobbled dangerously. Both versions of Paige flinched and turned their heads the other way as it toppled over the edge. But it never crashed; Melinda blinked and looked at her hands, her mouth forming a perfect 'o'._

_"Paige! Mel! We are back!" Piper's voice travelled through the house and Melinda jumped back._

_"Chris!" she yelled._

_An older version of Piper strolled in the room followed by an ill-looking Chris who was barely visible under a pile of clothes. Melinda rushed to him and wrapped her arms around him._

_"Is Chris okay?" Paige asked pushing some hair out of her face. Piper looked at the two kids; Melinda was helping Chris out of his jacket, and smiled._

_"He will be, he caught a bug."_

_"Shouldn't we call..." Paige trailed off her eyes on the ceiling. Piper shook her head no "Okay, you're the boss..." Paige's eyes fell on something and then they grew wide "I think we have a problem."_ _Piper frowned and looked around. Not seeing anything out of the ordinary she turned back to her sister. Paige inclined her head to the left and Piper followed her gaze. __"I think someone's got a new power," Paige murmured. The vase was still standing mid-air as Melinda and Chris entangled themselves in a game of tag._

_"Oh boy," Piper sighed._

"Your freezing power is better than Piper's!" Paige exclaimed stunned.

"Could you sound any more gleeful?" Piper snapped and Paige stuck out her tongue.

"You are Piper's daughter, aren't you?" Phoebe asked her hands pressing against her chest as Melinda's feelings changed rapidly. Melinda blinked and lowered her head.

_They were in the kitchen now. Piper was with her back to them standing in front of a high chair. A baby fussed and there were footsteps coming down the stairs._

_"Morning mom," Wyatt's voice flew in the room and he quickly followed. Piper flashed him a smile and picked up a plate of pancakes placing it in front of him._

_"Mommy!" a blaze of brown and grey zoomed past them and crashed on to Piper. A pair of tiny arms clad in grey pyjamas, wrapped around her leg and the boy pressed his face on it. Piper looked down at him with a wide smile._

_"Morning to you too peanut," she picked him up and planted a kiss on his forehead._

"A second son?" Piper whispered. Her hand came to her forehead. The boy didn't look that much younger than Wyatt, maybe a year or two.

_"Can I say morning to Mel?" the boy asked and Piper with glinting eyes moved over to the high chair. Chris leaned over her arms and placed a sloppy kiss on the baby's chubby cheek._

_"Momma," the baby cooed._

Piper nearly fainted; despite Phoebe's proclamation she wasn't convinced about Melinda. But hearing the words coming out of the baby's mouth, her heart flared. Three children. She was going to have two more babies, two more little babies that would call her mommy. And from the looks of it the kids had a very small age gap between them.

"Is that Chris?" Phoebe asked peering at the little boy with the green eyes that held tight on her sister's neck. Melinda gave a stiff nod feeling guilty for giving Chris' identity away. She couldn't fix it now. It wasn't her fault really; they used the truth spell on her.

"Oh my god, that's Chris!" Phoebe shrieked and Paige, who stood next to her, put her hands over her ears.

"Try to get me deaf, why don't you?" she said to her sister.

"Paige! Chris and Melinda are Piper's kids! Your hearing is so not important right now!"

"Well we knew that Melinda was family," Paige said lowering her hands "She told us so before we got here...Hey! You said that Chris was your cousin."

"Actually Phoebe theorized that he was my cousin, when I nearly gagged the day you interrogated me about my personal life, I just never denied it," Melinda answered trying desperately to avoid her mother's gaze. "Technically though considering that he's from another time line he's my...nothing," she came up sort with her vocabulary.

_There was a loud crash and baby Melinda looked up at her mother's eyes grinning._

_"Ohh," the baby bubbled looking down at the mess she'd just created._

"And your dad is...?" Paige trailed off. As if in answer the scenery shifted.

* * *

Chris had gone through the whole book twice and there was nothing there to help him get them back. Wyatt fussed in his playpen and Chris looked up to find a pair of blue orbs pinned on him. Wyatt was gripping the railing of his playpen, swaying back and forth in crescendo.  
"Mama," he said and his eyes turned to Piper. Chris followed his gaze and sighed.

"She's okay, you don't have to worry."

"Dada."

"Dad is okay too, I just need to find a way to wake them up, is all," Chris shut the book and ran his hands through his hair "No pressure there."

* * *

_The dark room in which they appeared was silent. The curtains were pulled so no light from the moon could get through the window. A soft breathing was the only thing that could be heard in the dark silence. Slowly but steadily the breathing grew faster and laboured._

Piper did not expect the piercing scream that came from somewhere to her left. She clenched her fingers around Leo jumping back scared not yet fully realising what she'd just learned. Melinda was her daughter, and Chris her son. She'd purposefully put her little boy down time and again and she'd used a truth spell on her daughter. This was just too much for her to bear, so to prevent the mental break down that was sure to ensue her mind pushed the information away.

_Melinda sat up on her bed, her chest heaving, tears streaming down her face. She put her arms around herself rocking back and forth as she cried, her dark hair creating a perfect halo around her face. The door creaked loudly as someone pushed it open. The hallway was also dark and the figure remained faceless as he stepped in the room and made his way to the bed. Melinda scooted over and allowed the man to put an arm around her shoulders. The girl was quick to snuggle to him and hide her face on his chest._

_"Shh, it's okay," the man spoke in a soothing voice._ Phoebe's face turned palle white. She quickly looked at the younger witch, and then at her sister. No, this wasn't possible, her ears were playing tricks to her.

_"No it isn't!" Melinda snapped but still held on to him "I saw it again and I'm starting to believe that it isn't a dream, he was there! And he did nothing!" Melinda's words were incomprehensible after that._

_"Shh, c'mon it will be alright. We'll make sure that whoever did it will pay, I promise you that," he said and Melinda pulled a little away to peer at his face._

_"Do you really?"_

_"Of course I do. You think your brothers or your Aunts will let whoever did it off the hook without a proper punishment?" Melinda shook her head and the man chuckled "I know I didn't have the best relationship with her..."_

_"She didn't hate you," Melinda was quick to cut him off._

_"I know you think that but..."_

_"No, I'm telling you, she didn't! She knew you changed, she trusted you! Would she let you in the house with us if she didn't?" Melinda demanded the tears still hot in her eyes._

_"Maybe you are right," he gave in and pushed a couple of locks away from her face._

_"I know I am," Melinda insisted and he chuckled again._

_"You're stubborn as your mother, aren't you?"_

_"You know that this is a compliment, right?" Melinda questioned and smiled "I love you," she said and hugged him tightly once more._

_"I love you too," the man kissed the top of her head soundly and stood up "And what did I tell you about drawing those curtains? They won't keep reality away Melinda," he spoke her name softly and pulled them open._

_The moonlight flew in the room illuminating the place in its pale glow. Melinda's eyes, red and puffy from the crying, looked huge as she gazed lovingly at the man in front of her. Said man took a moment to compose himself and with a wink and a smirk left the room, allowing the teenager to go back to sleep._

For Leo the hits were back to back; Chris and Wyatt knew each other when they were kids, bang! Chris was Piper's son, bang! Melinda was Piper's daughter, bang! In the pictures that were hanging on the walls in the conservatory there was none of his, bang! And now this. This though felt so much worse than the others. So much so that he violently pulled his hand away from his ex-wife's and moved away from her.

Phoebe was staring at Piper like she'd never seen her before. The rational part of her mind was screaming to her that this couldn't be true, that something was wrong that she had misunderstood. But the other part, the emotional part, the one that was hidden, the one she refused to acknowledge was ready to lash out.

"Will you hold your horses?" Melinda demanded feeling the tension between the members of her family. Her mom's astonished eyes found hers and Melinda's turned away "You asked me who my dad is, not who's my father."

"There's a difference in that?" Phoebe's voice was agitated.

"Of course there is, Paige would know," Melinda said looking at her Aunt.

"Me? How would I know? And didn't you mean, Aunt Paige?" she asked with a satisfied smile as the words left her mouth. Melinda rolled her eyes.

"Because there's your dad and then there's Sam, are they the same person?" Melinda asked and Paige's eyes dawned in realisation "No, they aren't. A father is the man that has always been there for you, the man who holds you when you cry, who laughs when you laugh, who feels proud for you when you win the spell competition in school! My _father _was none of these things, Uncle Cole on the other hand..." Melinda trailed off.

"Uncle Cole?" Phoebe's voice was emotional and Melinda grimaced.

"I should really watch what I'm saying around you, and how to control this thing because you cannot know everything."

"Sure we can," Paige said challengingly.

"No, no, you can't and you shouldn't. Do you realise how much my reality is going to change if say, I tell you the name of your husband or how Uncle Cole was resurrected? I do hate my future, the constant battlefield, the people I lost, the people I have to worry about, but there are things that I want to stay the same."

"So," Paige started not losing a bit "I have a husband?"

"Yes but please, please don't ask me his name! Because of this stupid spell I'll have to tell you and then everything is going to change and I..."

"Melinda, breathe," her mother admonished. Melinda shut up and took a deep breath.

"I'm sorry I tend to bubble when I'm upset," Melinda said with a sheepish smile.

Piper was amazed at how her attitude towards the girl changed now that she knew the truth. She thought that it was kinda hypocritical but all her trust issues were gone. She looked in the girl's face and her sister's vibrant eyes looked back at her. There was some of her mixed up in there as well, aside from all the features the girl had inherited from Prue. The curve of her neck was like Piper's, and the shape of her eyebrows. The way she held herself, the way she crossed her arms, and the sheepish smile, that was all Piper. Piper brought in her mind Chris' face. How didn't she saw through it all this time? Chris had her colours, her stubbornness, Paige's witty nature, and Victor's facial shape. His eyes were like Leo's, who she knew in her heart, was the father of all three of her children. Chris had come back to save his brother, to save his family he'd said so.

"Who is your father then?" Paige asked and this time she was prepared for the change.

* * *

**A/N: Did you really I think I was going to have Cole as Melinda's dad? I don't like Leo, but I'm not that cruel. Did you like it? No? Let me know!**


	15. Chapter 15

**Disclaimer: I don't own the series Charmed or any of the original characters. **

**A/N: Another not long chapter but I think this is my favourite of Melinda's memories that we've seen so far, I hope you'll agree.**

* * *

"Who is your father then?" Paige asked and this time she was prepared for the change.

"Oh no, I'm not sure you should see this," Melinda exclaimed when she realised where they were. Piper yelped and grabbed Leo's arm so stiffly that cut of his circulation.

Leo had to admit that he felt relieved when he saw himself Wyatt, Chris and Melinda on top of the Golden Gate Bridge. He still couldn't believe that he was going to have two more children, he still didn't know how he felt about the fact that Chris and Melinda were these children, but he was kind of glad that Piper's kids were his too, even if that sounded hypocritical.

Melinda flinched; she did not want to revisit this memory! Leo had done many things that she hated but this, the 'incident on the bridge' as her brothers called it, it was what started everything. Up until then Leo was just an awful father and a poor role model for the boys but after it...

_"Dad, you can't just come to Magic School and take us away without permission," Wyatt was saying shaking his head._

"Magic School? What's Magic School?" Piper demanded looking at her ex-husband. Leo let out a long sigh rolling back and forth on the balls of his feet.

"Ugh, exactly what you think; a place where young witches can learn about magic and understand how their powers work without the danger of exposing it and themselves."

_"...your father, Wyatt," future Leo said crossing his arms over his chest._

_"So that gives you the right to come and go whenever you will?" Wyatt asked angrily. His eyes momentarily shifted at the far end of the beam where Chris was trying to keep Melinda occupied "Will you just let Mel go? She's afraid of heights dad," Wyatt said pleadingly._

_"Nonsense," Leo said and looked over at his younger children._

Melinda remembered how scared she really was. She could remember the knot in her stomach; she could remember how her knees trembled, and how she was certain she'd fall. She had put on a strong face for Chris and she tried to laugh at his jokes but it was so difficult.

"You're terrified," Phoebe told her and Melinda nodded. She saw her younger self breaking in a huge smile but she wasn't fooled.

"Why didn't you leave?" Paige questioned. Melinda shrugged.

"I hadn't seen Leo in over a year, I wanted to spent some time with him," Melinda said remembering how foolish she was; how excited she'd felt when she saw her Father in Magic School. She truly believed that he wanted to spend some time with them, with her.

_"Dad, she's scared, I know what I'm talking about!" Wyatt insisted. Future Leo ignored him._

Piper looked over at her ex-husband. She saw that Leo was looking perplexed as he gazed at his other self. To her it was obvious that Future Leo did not know that Melinda was afraid of heights, it was also obvious that he didn't believe it to be true. But she believed Wyatt, and she noticed that although Melinda was laughing and grinning it was all a little too forced.

_"What are we doing up here anyway?" Wyatt asked looking around._

_"Hunting," Leo said and Wyatt's posture changed. He looked back at his siblings and then at his father._

_"H-hunting?" he stuttered a little "Mom doesn't let us..."_

_"Well, your mother isn't around right now, is she?" Leo asked and there was a harsh undertone in his voice._

Melinda shut her eyes and sighed, sometimes she wished she could forget everything.

_"Dad..." Wyatt trailed off. Leo's face changed, he smiled and let his hand on the boy's shoulder._

_"Relax buddy, nothing will happen to you, not on my watch," he said reassuringly. Wyatt didn't look convinced._

_"Okay but we don't need them, do we? Chris' new power is not agreeing with him at the moment and Melinda is too young, she could be a liability," Wyatt said._

_"Don't worry about them," Leo told him sparing a glance to his kids "They won't interfere."_

_"But..."_

_"They will be safe, Wyatt!" Future Leo snapped at him. Wyatt jumped and looked warily at his father._

Leo didn't know what to make off his behaviour; he was scarring Wyatt by yelling at him, he paid no mind to Melinda's fear, he was deadest on this hunt; that didn't sound like himself. He looked over to the older version of his daughter, but the young woman had her back turned at him.

_"Mom will be upset," Wyatt said and Leo's face turned angry._

_"It's my right to spend some time with you."_

_"Only when it's convenient to you," Wyatt muttered under his breath "I mean, mom didn't know that you'd come down today. She'll be expecting us, unless you told her?" Wyatt asked hopeful._

_"No, I didn't think I should take her permission. I'm your father." Leo repeated, as if the statement excused his behaviour. _

_"You hardly __ever __ act like it!" Wyatt yelled. Chris' head snapped around and he narrowed his eyes as he looked at them._

_"Wyatt?" he asked. Wyatt took a deep breath and schooled his features._

_"I'm okay Chris," he said. Chris pinned in his eyes for a long second before nodding. Melinda bit on her lip._

_"Are we leaving yet?" she asked her voice small and thin. Chris rubbed her shoulders with his hands in an attempt to make her feel better._

_"In a little while, Mel, I promise," Wyatt told her. Leo made a tut noise as he looked at his eldest son._

_"You shouldn't make promises that you can't keep Wyatt," he chastised._

"Why are you acting like that?" Paige demanded whirling around to face her brother-in-law. Leo's eyes grew wide.

"This isn't me!" he defended himself. Paige narrowed her eyes accusingly.

"Oh this **is** you," she said.

"Paige..." Phoebe trailed off. But she didn't know what to say, how to continue. Leo turned expectantly to Piper but she refused to look at him.

"Piper," he said and reached out to her. Piper took a step away, bringing herself closer to Melinda. The girl sighed; she knew that this was going to happen, and they hadn't seen the worst of it yet. She pressed her lips together and crossed her arms.

"If you don't stop bickering you'll lose it," she said.

_Right on cue blue orbs appeared in front of Wyatt. The boy looked questioningly up to his father as an Elder with a golden rob, and olive skin, looked expectantly at the two._

_"I thought we were up here hunting?" Wyatt asked. Leo eyed the newcomer._

_"We are," he said. Wyatt looked confused._

_"Leo, you called?"_  
_"I did, Basil," Leo said and he started walking in circles around Basil and Wyatt "I've heard some...things, some rumours," he said his eyes pinning on the back of the other Elder "Something about me, going crazy...Being consumed by my powers," he said slowly, deliberately. Basil shifted._

_"You did?" he questioned his voice the slightest bit strained._

_"Yes...And I was hurt at first; these lies travel around fast, they could reach my children, they could give them the wrong idea about their father," Leo stopped in front of Basil, glaring at him "But then I got angry."_

_"Leo, I can see where this is going..."_

_"Can you, Basil?" Leo's voice was taunting "I don't appreciate being lied to in my face."_

_"I never..."_

_"You said you didn't know anything!" Leo barked and Wyatt took another step away from him "Zola told me what you said."_

_"Zola has a big mouth," Basil muttered darkly "And he's a liar."_

_"Zola is the one lying?" Leo asked kinking an eyebrow._

_"He's been against you ever since..." Basil's eyes trailed over towards Melinda "He has been saying things, when you are not around. How your judgement is clouded. That you should maybe take a break..."_

_"And you've been defending my honour?" Leo asked sardonically._

_"It is no time for sarcasm..."_

_"You know, it shows that you have some gut," Leo cut him off. Basil looked at him confused "You're still lying, right in front of me, so I have to admit that you have some gut. But I won't be fooled."_

_"You're mistaken Leo..."_

_"I am not," Leo pressed each word with conviction "I know that it was you, I know that you've been talking behind my back. And now you'll pay for it."_

_"Is that a threat, Leo?" Basil asked. Leo chuckled dryly and turned to Wyatt._

_"Time to hunt."_

_"Dad?" Wyatt whispered taking a step back. He glimpsed over his shoulder and saw that Chris had taken a protective stance in front of their sister. Wyatt gulped._

_"This man, is not worth living, Wyatt," Leo said and Wyatt's eyes turned to Basil._

_"Leo, what are you doing? Leave the boy out of this!"_

_"You are in no place of telling me what to do."_

_"Dad I don't understand..." Wyatt said still backing away from his father._

_"This man has created problems, Wyatt. Problems that can still be fixed. I don't want to risk it and kill him myself so I want you..."_

_"No!" Wyatt yelled and started orbing out but Leo darted forward and took a hold of his arm._

_"All you have to do is call for Excalibur and then..."_

_"I said no Dad! I'm not killing an Elder!" Wyatt yelled trying to free his arm from his father's grip._

Melinda kept her eyes glued at the scene that was playing before her. She did not want to see her mother's hurt expression, or the disbelieving look in her Aunts' face. She did not want to look at Leo, because she knew she'd feel sorry for him, because this Leo was not her father, not yet, and she could only imagine how horrible he must be feeling at that moment. So she pressed her lips together and watched on.

_"You'll do as I say," Leo insisted and Wyatt shook his head. Leo decided to change tactics. He let go of Wyatt and straightened his body "Mel," he called out and the girl peered at him from behind Chris "Come over here sweetie," he said. Melinda started towards him but Chris grabbed her hand "Chris, let her go," Leo ordered. Chris swallowed and looked between his sister and his father._

_"It's alright, Chris," Melinda said. Chris sighed heavily and slowly let go of her arm. Melinda walked to her father and he put both his hands on her shoulders. Leo knelt in front of her and looked her in the eyes._

_"Are you afraid Mel?" he asked. Melinda shook her head and he smiled "It's okay if you are, it's quite scary up here, it's so far from the ground," he said looking downwards._

_"I'm a little bit scared," the girl admitted. Leo nodded._

_"Do you wanna go home? You wanna go see mommy?" he asked. Melinda lowered her head and peered at him through her bangs._

_"Yeah..."_

_"Okay, so," Leo breathed and looked up at Wyatt "Why don't you tell your brother to do what I tell him to do, so you can go back home?"_

_"Will you come with?" Melinda asked lifting her head. Leo opened and closed his mouth for a couple of seconds not knowing how to respond._

_"I-I can't sweetheart, mom won't like it..."_

_"I'll tell her that I want you there! She won't say no to me!" Melinda insisted._

_"Okay, okay, whatever you want," Leo gave in. Melinda gave him a million watt smile "Now..." Leo trailed off and looked towards Wyatt. Melinda pivoted around and gazed up at her older brother._

_"Melinda please don't ask me to do this," Wyatt begged with her._

_"But daddy said that we'll go home afterwards..."_

_"Melinda, he wants me to kill and Elder!" Melinda looked at her dad over her shoulder._

_"He's a bad man Melinda," her father said and Melinda's eyes returned to Wyatt after lingering on Basil for a second. Wyatt shook his head vigorously._

_"I won't do it!"_

_"Honey, why don't you call for the sword?" Leo asked and Melinda frowned._

_"But it's not mine," she said._

_"Call for it and we'll see what happens," Leo pressed. Melinda pondered on it for a second, then extended her hand and,_

_"Excalibur," she muttered. The blue orbs that appeared around her extended arm made her eyes go wide. She instinctively clenched her fingers around the hilt. The sword shook violently against her grip. Melinda's eyes grew even wider and her face pale. She started whimpering but didn't let go._

"What's going on?" Piper asked worried her eyes pinned on the younger version of her daughter.

"The sword...It's corrupting me, fast," Melinda said as she watched on "I always had...tendencies, I was easy to manipulate and..." she stopped.

"And?" her mother pressed. Melinda sighed.

"I've been possessed twice," she said and heard several gasps "Once when I was eight; I was too young and I couldn't fight it. But Wyatt picked on that there was something wrong, and I was fine in less than two days. And then when I was fourteen...that time I embraced it, I was hurt and angry and sad...it took you guys a while to realise what was going on, you thought I was just acting out," she muttered.

"Why would we..." Piper started and Melinda's eyes snapped to her.

"No, please, don't ask why," she pleaded "Please," Piper didn't like the desperate tone in her voice. Nor the tears that she saw at the corners of her eyes. But she nodded nonetheless. Melinda gave her an appreciative smile.

_"Dad, something's wrong," Wyatt said his eyes on his baby sister. Melinda was looking at the sword as if in awe._

_"Nothing's wrong Wyatt," Leo brushed it off. Wyatt huffed._

_"Mel, give me the sword," he said. Melinda's eyes moved to his face. She gave a shrug and turned the sword in her hand._

_"No," she said simply._

_"Mel, the sword, now," Wyatt's voice was demanding, but there was an undertone of fear in it. Melinda set her jaw._

_"I said no!" she repeated angrily, and Wyatt found himself flying back towards Chris, and colliding on his younger brother._

_"Melinda that wasn't very nice."_

_"Sorry Daddy," Melinda lowered her head and scrapped her foot on the bridge._

"How did you do that?" Paige asked surprised.

"Ugh, the sword enhanced my powers."

"But telekinesis isn't your power," Paige insisted.

"Chris, Wyatt, and I have this...psychic bond, I don't know how to explain it. But we always know when one of us is in trouble, and we can read each other's thoughts, we can tap in each other's powers...Well we could until Chris forced us to turn it off," Melinda explained.

"Psychic bond?" Piper asked. Melinda shrugged.

"I don't know how, or why," she said.

_"Call for the sword Chris," Wyatt was yelling at the younger boy._

_"No, you know that I don't like holding it Wyatt."_

_"It's yours! Call for it," Wyatt ordered. Chris bit on his lip and looked at the Excalibur in Melinda's hands. He couldn't hear what his father was saying to her, but Melinda was looking at Basil with a weird look on her face. Chris didn't like that look._

_"Excalibur," he said and the sword orbed in his hands. Melinda wobbled on her feet momentarily, then she bend over and started vomiting._

_"Chris!" Leo's voice boomed and Chris' eyes got wide "Give the sword back, right now!" his father yelled, but Wyatt got between the two glaring at the man. Basil was kneeling next to Melinda, holding back her hair, stroking her back._

_"Dad, let us go, please," Wyatt said gazing at his sister._

_"No one is living before you do what I want you to do," Leo said threateningly._

_"Dad please," Wyatt's voice quivered "Mel is not feeling well..."_

_"You!" Leo whirled around and glared at Basil "Get away from my daughter you..."_

"That is enough!" Melinda yelled and everything stopped. She couldn't take it anymore, it was too much. Too many feelings, so much fear. She thought she'd put it all behind but now everything was coming back.

**A/N: So...did you like it? Was it any good? I know that future Leo is OOC but well he's my baddie in this story he has to be OOC. **


	16. Chapter 16

**Disclaimer: I don't own the series Charmed or any of the original characters. **

**A/N: Hi, everyone! I suck terribly, I haven't updated this story in months and I'm really sorry about it. I had a terrible case of writer's block, I'm still struggling with it, I don't know when the next update will be, but I hope it will be in less than two months. This is not a long chapter, but it is a new chapter. I don't know if anyone is still interested in this story, but I hope you'll enjoy it, here you go!**

* * *

Chris heard Melinda whimpering. He quickly walked away from the book and rushed to her side. Wyatt's eyes followed his every move. Melinda's forehead was sweaty and she was thrusting left and right. Chris kept her arms down afraid she'd hurt herself. He had to get her out of her head, whatever she did, whatever spell she used was backfiring on her and Chris had to find away to help her. Wyatt fussed in his playpen and reached his arms towards Chris. Knowing that if he ignored him much longer he'd start crying, Chris picked up the baby and rocked him a little to calm him down. Wyatt's eyes moved from his mom, to his dad, and finally to his two Aunts.

"They are going to be okay buddy," Chris said reassuringly. He let him down and went back to the book. Wyatt crawled next to Melinda. He sat by her head and just watched her as she kept whimpering.

* * *

"Shh, it's okay," Piper acted instinctively when she saw Melinda's shoulders shaking. She pulled the younger woman in her arms and cradled her head. Melinda flinched a little, but Piper wasn't going to let that bother her, not at that moment; Melinda needed her, and Piper knew that. And right then and there it was all that she cared about.

"I-I'm really sorry, for what's it worth," Melinda heard Leo saying and her crying grew harder.

"Leo, just...don't," Paige said with a small shake of her head. Her ex-brother-in-law sighed lowering his head, and walked a bit farther away from the rest of them. Paige turned to Phoebe who was awfully quite and found her crying silently, her arms wrapped around herself. Paige walked closer to her sister and tried to put an arm around her, but Phoebe let a small scream and jumped away. "Pheebs, it's me," Paige said as Phoebe kept whimpering. The youngest Charmed One reached for her sister again. This time instead of pulling away Phoebe clung on to Paige, burying her head on her sister's neck "Hey, shh, it's okay honey," Paige murmured in her sister's ear, while rubbing her back.

Melinda was trying to recall herself. But being in her mother's arms, finally getting the comfort she'd needed for so long, stop crying seemed impossible. Piper was whispering in her ear that she was going to be ok, that everything was fine now, and that she wouldn't let anything happen to her. Melinda knew that her mom was trying to soothe her down, but her words made everything worst. Because nothing was better, and when she'd return to her time line she wouldn't be there to keep her safe.

"What happened next?" Paige asked and Piper glared at her. But Paige didn't back down; this was all Piper's idea, and since they went through with it, they should find out as much as they could.

"Paige," Piper said her tone warning.

"I-it's okay," Melinda's voice was muffled. She sniffled and lifted her head looking at her mother. Piper gave her a smile and Melinda quickly looked away, biting on her tongue; she didn't want to start crying again. Melinda took a step back effectively getting out of Piper's arms and put her own around herself looking at her family "Chris sent the sword back home and Leo got really angry. If it wasn't for Wyatt I don't know what he'd done," she started. She soon realised that she couldn't quite meet their eyes so she lowered her gaze to her shoes "Excalibur had done a number on me and my stomach was all messed up. I couldn't stand on my feet. Basil tried to get me back home but Leo would have none of that."

"Why didn't Basil orb away?" Paige asked curiously.

"I guess he was afraid for us," Melinda said with a small shrug "He didn't want to leave us alone with Leo."

Leo tried to not let it affect him, the way that Melinda said his name. The girl's father was obviously a terrible man, and he could understand the hate and fear in her tone whenever his name came out of her mouth. What Leo couldn't understand was how he could act like that towards his kids. It was something very difficult to grasp because Leo couldn't even imagine scarring Wyatt like that, or asking him to kill another Elder.

"And then?" Paige prompted.

"Leo killed Basil," Melinda said and a lump rose on her throat. She stopped herself from remembering it, she didn't want the scene to start playing again "In cold blood, right in front of us. Wyatt wanted to heal him but then Leo sent us home. And mom was all worried because I was crying and Wyatt wanted to go back..." Melinda stopped and shook her head.

"Why would Leo kill another Elder?" Piper asked unable to stop herself.

"Because Basil was telling the others that they should recycle his soul. After...an ordeal with a new power, Leo lost it. Not automatically, it took some time. He made some wrong decisions; his powers grew because of them. And then something...something happened, and it was at that point that my time line diverted from Chris'."

"I'm not going to ask what happened," Paige said and Melinda let a relieved sigh "And I won't ask what the new power was. But you have to tell me this; Is Leo...in your time line is he..." Paige didn't know how to form her question.

"I shouldn't tell you this," Melinda said shaking her head "I've already said too many things, you've seen too many things you shouldn't..." Melinda groaned, her head falling forward her hair hiding her face.

"It's okay," Piper touched her shoulder, and Melinda tensed ,but she forced her muscles to relax "This is not your fault, we put you under a spell..."

"And I reacted to it like a petulant five year old," Melinda said lifting her head, and looking at her mother "I shouldn't have casted a spell when I was so angry, I knew it was going to backfire."

"I have another question," Leo spoke up, and four pair of eyes turned towards him. Leo stood his ground "The prophecy about Excalibur said that it belonged to the son of a Charmed One, but it also said that it was to be owned by the greatest power on earth," Leo said, his green eyes pinning in Melinda's. The girl nodded.

"Hang on, how do you know about that?" Piper asked. Leo turned to her, his head slightly tilted on the side.

"I'm an Elder," he said as if it explained everything. Piper huffed, and rolled her eyes.

"Okay, what's the question?" Melinda asked.

"Well, if Excalibur's owner is truly the greatest power on earth..." Leo trailed off.

"How come it's Chris'?" Melinda demanded, unable to believe that he was about to ask her that. Leo simple nodded and she scoffed "Wow, you are really not that much different than he is!" she exclaimed, and her voice was a mixture of amusement and anger.

"Melinda," Leo started his tone condescending "Wyatt is the Twice Blessed son of a Charmed One, he has been prophesied, he had powers from the womb..."

"Okay will you just stop rubbing that in?" Melinda exploded "Some of us were late bloomers. Some of us didn't have powers until we were five, that doesn't mean we are any less witches than your dear Twice Blessed son!" Melinda yelled at her father's face.

"Whoa, someone has issues," Paige whispered loudly, and Melinda pulled a face.

"I'm just really sick of hearing Leo belittling Chris in every single time line!" Melinda was just growing angrier as the seconds ticked by "Chris is such a great big brother, he's so brave you have no idea, and he is a great witch, but you." Melinda glared at her father "You've never seen that!"

"Okay, honey, if you could please calm down," Piper said touching her shoulder. Melinda shrugged her hand off.

"No, I can't, and don't you 'honey' me! God, I'm just so, so angry with you," Melinda groaned running a hand through her hair. She took a deep cleansing breath, willing herself to calm down "To answer your question, Chris is the yin to Wyatt's yang. He's the water to his fire, the calmness to Wyatt's craziness. He's the yielder of Excalibur because he's the only one that can calm Wyatt down, and that gives him the greatest power on earth. Because yes," Melinda paused and heaved a sigh "Wyatt is truly very powerful, much more powerful than Chris and I. But there's one thing the never wrong prophecy got wrong." Melinda said with a sarcasitc eye roll" He's not as powerful as the Charmed Ones, no one is."

* * *

Chris shut the book angrily. There was nothing in there that could help him. He had no idea what spell Melinda had cast, and he had no idea how to break it. He was so frustrated with himself. He should've kept in touch with her after the whole Excalibur debacle, they should've started thinking of ways to send her back in her time line, he should've been there, but instead he focused on his quest to avoid his family and find the demon that was going to turn Wyatt.

Chris groaned, wrecking both his hands through his hair. He needed to do something, but his mind wasn't cooperating. Every time he tried to think of something, he came up blank. He let a sigh and looked up to see Wyatt studying Melinda's face. He was about to go through the book again when he heard the jingling. Morris was calling for him.

"Great," Chris said bitterly. At the sound of his voice Wyatt looked up "C'mon buddy," Chris said walking close to his brother, and picking him up. He looked straight in the baby's eyes, and then at the people that lied all around him on the floor "We'll be right back," he promised.

* * *

Melinda was so frustrated. Mostly with herself. God she was so stupid! She shouldn't have cast that spell! She'd blown up Chris' cover, she'd blown up her own cover, and now everyone knew too much. And she was angry with Piper for being a complete hypocrite, and for Leo for being...well Leo.

"Okay missy, calm down," Paige ordered the third time that Melinda groaned while tagging at her hair "If you keep doing that you'll go bold before you turn twenty five."

"You are not being funny Auntie Paige," Melinda said, and Paige's face broke into a huge smile. Her hand came to her chest.

"Hey, you just called me 'Auntie'," she said excitedly, missing the hurt look in Piper's eyes. Melinda stopped her pacing.

"I did?" she question. Paige nodded vigorously. A small smile tagged at the corners of Melinda's lips.

"Okay people," Phoebe, who had finally regained her composure, said attracting their attention "How are we getting out of here?"

"I don't know," Melinda admitted. Phoebe blinked.

"What do you mean you don't know? This is your spell."

"Yes, but this is the first time I'm using it, I don't know how to reverse it," Melinda said avoiding their eyes.

"Okay, the spell is supposed to show us your memories, right?" Paige asked, and Melinda looked at her under her lashes, while nodding "So maybe, it will resolve itself when we've seen everything we're meant to see?"

"No," Melinda said adamantly "No, actually you weren't supposed to see any of these."

"You don't know that," Piper said, and Melinda looked at her.

"In fact I do. This is not even your future, this is a different time line or..." she sighed "Or whatever. I just...I shouldn't...god!" Melinda exclaimed.

Paige stepped forward, and put her hands on the younger woman's shoulders, effectively stopping her pacing. Melinda sighed, and looked at her Aunt who smiled.

"Just take a deep breath, and calm down," Paige instructed. Melinda narrowed her eyes, her lips pressing into a thin line. Paige didn't waiver.

Melinda stared at her for five seconds before finally giving in. She rolled her shoulders, commanding herself to relax, and drew a deep breath. Paige seized the moment to pull her in a hug, knowing that the girl's guards were down. Melinda was about to start protesting when she felt a weight lifting off of her shoulders. She could breathe a little easier now, and her guilt was somewhat minimized. It was as if Paige's aura, all her good energy, was washing off on her, helping Melinda to unwind. She didn't even notice her surroundings changing.

_"Auntie Paige," a nine year old Melinda said, looking thoughtfully at her bowl of ice cream, that was on the coffee table before her. Paige looked at her from over her newspaper._

_"Yes sweetie?"_

_"How come Daddy is never around?" Melinda's vibrant green eyes snapped in Paige's warm brown ones. Paige had the look of a deer caught in the headlights on her face. She slowly lowered the paper, and leaned on the table, her arms crossed._

_"Where did this question come from?" she asked and Melinda shrugged "No c'mon, you can do better than that."_

_"All the kids at school were talking about Thanksgiving the other day, and they were saying what they'll do with their Mommies and Daddies and...it's not that I don't love my Mommy, or you and Auntie Phoebe and my Uncles but," Melinda paused, and pushed a couple of her dark locks behind her ear "I would like it if Daddy was here. Just this once."_

The older version of Melinda pulled away from Paige and looked at her younger self. She couldn't remember having this conversation with her Aunt, but apparently she did. She dared at glimpse to Leo who looked ashen white, and then at Piper who was clasping her hands tightly in front of her.

_"Honey, you know that your Dad has a really important job," Paige started._

_"I know that he's an Elder," Melinda said, and it was obvious in her face that she didn't exactly know what that meant "But you are a Whitelighter and Uncle..." _the older Melinda looked at herself in alarm and her next word was covered by a 'bleep'

"Hey!" Paige swatted her shoulder "You're not playing fair," she said accusingly. Melinda smirked.  
"Get used to it," she said coyly.

_"...is also a Whitelighter," the younger Melinda continued "But you are both here all the time."_

_"Well, Elders have a more important job than us," Paige said_ and the younger version of Paige scoffed.

_"Yes, I understand that but..." Melinda bit on the inside of her cheek "He's never here Auntie Paige, I never see him," Melinda said, her eyes brimming with tears._

_"Come here," Paige said, dragging her in her lap. She ran her fingers through Melinda's hair, tucking the girl's head under her chin "You know that your mommy loves you, right?" she asked and Melinda nodded "And so do your brothers, and Aunt Phoebe, and your Uncles and your cousins," Paige went on "And so do I. I really, really love you honey," Paige said, brushing the back of her palm over the girl's forehead._

_"I know," Melinda murmured._

_"And your Daddy, even if he is not here, even if you don't see him a lot, your Daddy also loves you," Paige said, looking down at her. Melinda's expression turned doubtful._

_"Does he?"_

_"Of course he does! How could he not?" Melinda gave a small shrug "Listen to me, and listen very carefully honey, ok? Your Daddy, he would do anything for you guys, all three of you. And he's up there with the rest of the Elders to protect you, because there's nothing else, that he loves more than you," Paige said. But her words and her tone didn't match the expression on her face. Even though her voice was sweet, and soothing, it was apparent in her face that it took a lot from her to say those words._

_"Okay Auntie Paige," Melinda said with a big smile. Paige smiled as well._

_"Now, will you give me a big hug?" she asked. Melinda giggled, and then threw her arms around Paige's neck. Paige held her close, her hand coming to the back of the girl's head to stroke her hair._

_Blue orbs appeared behind the couch, and a nine year old Chris appeared out of thin air. His brown hair was all tussled, and his cheeks were red. He tapped Melinda on the shoulder, and she turned around frowning, to look at him._

_"Tag, you're it!" he said and orbed away. Melinda blinked._

_"Hey! That's not fair! I didn't know we were playing!" Melinda yelled looking at the ceiling. She heard Wyatt and Chris giggling. Melinda crossed her arms. Paige nudged her on the ribs._

_"C'mon, we can totally take them," she said with a mischievous glint in her eyes and Melinda grinned._

"Wow, you two seem pretty close," Phoebe said looking at the older version of her niece, as the scene around them dissolved into nothingness.

"We are," Melinda said with a fond smile. She noticed the slightly envious look on Phoebe's face and continued "We," she said pointing between herself and the middle Charmed One "Grew closer, when I grew up."

"Really?" Phoebe asked eagerly. Melinda nodded.

"We bonded over boy troubles," she said and Phoebe smiled. Paige rolled her eyes.

"Of course," she muttered to herself.

"What about us?" Piper asked. Melinda looked over at her mom.

"We were always close...Why do you look so surprised?" Piper took a deep breath.

"Oh I don't know, maybe because your reaction to me hasn't been the best..."

"That's because you cast a truth spell on me," Melinda deadpanned. Piper's gaze fell on her shoes "I'm sorry..."

"No, no, you're right," Piper said quickly "And I know that I haven't been nice to you, ever since you came here. I didn't trust you and I've been rude but you have to understand..."

"I do," Melinda cut her off "I do understand. That doesn't mean that it didn't stink. But I do understand. And you were a wonderful mom, the best that anyone could ask for. You were..." Melinda paused and swallowed a lump that rose in her throat "You were great."

"Melinda," Phoebe said, an uneasy feeling spreading in her stomach "Why did you use past tense?"

* * *

Wyatt's force field went up the moment they re-materialized. Chris looked around him, trying to assess the situation as fast as possible. They were in Morris' school, and other than them the place looked empty, apart from the demons that is. Chris frowned for a second, and then he remembered that it was Saturday. Morris was hiding behind a tree trunk.

"Morris, it's okay, I'm here, it's going to be alright," Chris said feeling the boy's fear.

"Chris!" Morris exclaimed in relief "You're here!" he said, and it sounded like he couldn't believe it.

"I told you, all you need to do is call me," Chris said. Morris slowly walked from behind the tree, giving him a shy smile "Okay so let's see what we have here," Chris said, Wyatt still in his arms."Low level demons, this was probably just a random attack," Chris mumbled to himself.

"How do you know that my mother didn't sent them?" Morris asked eyeing the demons worriedly. The energy balls keep hitting on the force-field that absorbed all of them with remarkable easiness.

"Your mom is a powerful seer, if she wanted to get you back she would sent someone who she knew could do the job," Chris said turning his attention to his charge. Morris didn't look convinced "Okay, will you feel better if I look into it?" Chris asked and the boy nodded "I'll look into it then...Will you hold Wyatt for a sec?" he asked and Morris' eyes turned to the baby.

"Ugh, sure," he agreed a bit reluctantly. Chris handed him the baby, and Morris rocked him a little to stop the fussing he knew was coming. Wyatt remained silent and pinned his piercing blue eyes in Morris', making him feel uncomfortable.

"Let's get this over with," Chris mumbled to himself "Wyatt, I need you to lower your shield buddy, can you do that?" Chris asked looking at his brother. Wyatt's shield didn't go down "You can keep it around you, and Morris, but I have to take care of the bad guys, so..." Chris trailed off. Wyatt pondered on it for a second, and then he retracted his force field. Chris smiled and then quickly spun around when a fireball whizzed above his head.

Chris flicked his hand and one of the demons flew back, hitting against one of the school's walls. His friends turned to look at him, which was a stupid move on their part. Chris lifted his hand. A lightning bolt sprung from his palm, hitting one of the demons on the back. He screamed as his body was soon engulfed into flames. The two remaining demons turned back to Chris, who was quick to vanquish them. As their bodies turned into fuming ashes, the demon he'd sent flying regained his conscious, but once he realised he was alone he shimmered away. Wyatt's shield went down, and the baby extended his arms towards Chris who took him from Morris. The boy ran a hand through his hair.

"Thanks for coming," he said in a low voice.

"You don't have to thank me, Morris," Chris said. Morris shook his head.

"No you shouldn't have to...I should be able to deal with them on my own..."

"No, no Morris, stop. Listen," Chris ordered "You're new to your powers, you can hardly control them, let alone use them to vanquish demons. I'm your Whitelighter, it's my job to help you, it's my job to come to you whenever you call..." Morris waited but Chris didn't continue. His mouth was hanging open, and his eyes were glazed over. He stood like that for a couple of minutes, and then he suddenly slapped his hand over his forehead. Morris frowned.

"What?" he asked.

"I...I realized something," Chris said feeling stupid. How didn't he think of that earlier? "I gotta go Morris, but if you need anything else, all you have to do is call my name, ok?" he asked. Morris nodded. Chris was about to orb out when Morris stopped him.

"Wait! Are you really gonna search about those demons?" the boy asked. Chris nodded "How?" Morris pressed. Chris had almost forgotten.

"Athame," he called, and a ceremonial dagger orbed in his hand "They left this behind," he said showing it to Morris "If your biological mother had anything to do with the attack then she surely gave this to them. She probably blessed it too. So I'll do my research, and I'll let you know, ok?" Morris nodded "You're going straight back home now," Chris continued and the boy nodded again "Be careful," he added.

"I will," Morris reassured him. With one last look, Chris orbed away. He finally knew what he had to do.

* * *

**A/N: So this was a filler, not much happened, but I promise that the story will pick up, soon I hope. Anyway, let me know if you liked it, or not! **


	17. Chapter 17

**Disclaimer: I don't own the series Charmed or any of the original characters. **

**A/N: Hey, I'm back from the dead! I know I said I'd try to update sooner, but well things rarely go as planned, right? I do still care about this story, and I hope you care for it to. It's hard for me to finish it, but I won't give up without a fight. I hope you haven't given up on it. Here's chapter 17!**

**P.S Thanks SO much for your reviews, I really appreciate them!**

* * *

"Melinda, why the past tense?" Phoebe asked again. Melinda managed to keep her facial expression in check, and gave an aloof shrug.

"I used past tense?" she asked, avoiding to look towards her mom. Phoebe nodded "Just a mistake I guess...Chris is the genius one, not me." she chuckled a little and rolled her eyes.

Playing dump was her best option at this point. She knew that they were not going to buy it, and she still couldn't directly lie, but as long as they didn't ask the right questions she had nothing to worry about. She pushed a smile at her face, one that would've never fooled the Charmed Ones of her time line, but the ones standing in front of her didn't really know Melinda, so she could hope they'd believe her.

Paige could tell that Melinda was not sharing the whole story. From Piper's look, her older sister agreed with her. Phoebe was trying to understand what was going on in Melinda's mind, but the younger woman didn't give anything off. Only Leo seemed kinda convinced.

"Look, don't over think about it, ok?" Melinda said, picking her words carefully "It was a stupid mistake, and..." she stopped, and sighed. Damn that truth spell! "Please don't ask me, I don't...I don't want to..." Melinda stumbled over her words.

"It's okay." Piper spoke up, stepping closer to her. Melinda shut her mouth, and swallowed. Her mother looked at her with a bright smile on her face, one that looked fake "It's okay sweetie." Piper said reassuringly, resting her hand on the girl's shoulder. Melinda resisted the urge to shrug it off.

"So," Paige's voice broke the silence, and the tension that had fallen between them "My husband is a Whitelighter, huh?" Melinda bit the inside of her cheek.

"Is there any chance you're going to forget that?" she asked, making Paige smirk.

"Nope." Melinda groaned, her head falling forward "Do I get a name? What he looks like? Is he European?..."

"Paige." Melinda cut her off "You know that I can't tell you."

"But you can." Paige said playing her eyebrows.

"But she shouldn't." Leo said. Paige glared at him.

"Whose side are you on?" she asked. Leo smiled at little, giving her a patronizing smile.

"Paige, you know that I'm right." he said. Paige bit on her lip, and refrained from nodding along "You guys can't know too many things about your future. You don't know in which ways that knowledge can alter it." Paige sighed.

"Alright, I guess you're right.

"He is right." Melinda insisted, and Leo gave her a surprised look; the last thing he expected was for her to agree with anything he said.

"What about Cole..." Phoebe started, but Melinda shook her head violently.

"No."

"I was just going to ask if we'll have to worry about him..."

"No, I can't risk you messing this one up. Not Cole coming back."

"Mel, Cole is a demon." Paige said looking her in the eyes "I know you two are pretty close, but we have to be careful."

"No Auntie Paige, you don't know. And you'll only find out when it's time. I'm sorry, I know you have questions, especially you Aunt Phoebe, but...I can't risk it."

They didn't know. They had no idea of how important Cole was to her. They had no idea of how essential he was to the Resistance. And she wanted to tell them, if only to save him going through what he went through in her time line; all the anger, and the mistrust, and the attempts to his life, but she was too afraid to change anything regarding her uncle's third chance to life. So she had to keep her mouth shut.

* * *

Chris didn't really know whether it was going to work or not, but it was his best chance. As soon as he re-materialised, he felt the power of the crystals. He had no time to react when a screaming woman charged towards him. Wyatt's shield went up, and Iris collided on the protective force-field, causing her body to fly back against one of the walls of her living room.

"You didn't have to do that." Chris chastised the baby, but Wyatt simply looked at him. Chris rolled his eyes, before placing his brother on one of the couches. He approached the woman's fallen form, and touched her shoulder, shaking her lightly.

"Take your hands of off me, or I'll scream."

"Again?" Chris questioned rising an eyebrow. Iris narrowed her eyes at him.

"Take your hands off, or I swear to god..."

"Look, I'm not here to fight you, ok?" Chris said pulling his hand away. Iris sat up, crossing her arms over her chest. As her eyes roamed his face, she noticed that he looked familiar.

"Wait, are you Melinda's brother?"

"She told you about that?" Iris nodded. Chris sighed, and ran a hand through his already tussled hair "Great."

"It wasn't her fault. She got drunk and...Well, she needed to talk it out, and I offered to listen." Iris shrugged "No harm done, your secret is safe with me." she said with a small smile that Chris didn't return "So why are you here?"

"Melinda is in trouble, and I think you're the only one who can help her."

"Me?" Iris asked surprised "But...how? My powers, they're not..."

"You don't have to use your powers."

"Okay, now I'm more confused..."

"Melinda did a spell, and it backfired. She's trying to fix it on her own, but somehow...she's stuck. She needs your help."

"What do I have to do?"

"For starters, you have to come with me."

* * *

Piper's silence didn't go unnoticed for long. It was hard for the young witch to accept that her children would have to deal with a future similar to her present. She didn't want that life for them, she didn't want them to worry about demons, to fight for their lives. She always thought that when she'd be old enough to have her own family, this whole 'save the world' destiny would just...go away. But she was obviously wrong. And as if the demons were not enough her kids had their own father as an enemy.

"Honey, are you okay?" Phoebe asked. Piper simply shook her head no "Look, I can't even begin to understand how difficult this all is for you-"

"I'm gonna have two more children." Piper cut her off "My ex-husband will turn crazy, and my **children **will be on the receiving end of his wrath. Also, considering the family history, I probably die when they're still pretty young leaving them all alone." Melinda flinched, but everyone was too preoccupied with Piper to notice "This is not just difficult, this is impossible to accept."

"Even if you do..." Paige couldn't bring herself to finish her sentence "Your kids won't be alone. They'll have us."

"Yes, and they'll still have to put up with an insane father!" Piper snapped.

"Piper," Leo started, taking a step closer to his ex wife "You forget one important thing; what we saw is the future of a different time line-"

"Wrong. What we saw is one of two possible futures. And if Melinda's is so dark, I don't want to think how bad Chris' is."

"Do you know about Chris' time line?" Phoebe asked looking at the younger woman. Melinda's mouth snapped a couple of times with no words coming out, as she wrapped her arms tighter around her body.

"I-I can't tell you...He'll already be pissed with me for blowing his cover."

"Yeah, I don't get that." Paige shook her head "Why in the name of Merlin didn't he tell us who he really was? If we knew he was family he's life would've been so much easier."

"Because." Melinda stopped and groaned "Don't you people understand how dangerous this is? The fact that you know who I am, the fact that you know I'm from a different time line, that Leo is..." Melinda trailed off and wrecked her hands through her hair "You shouldn't have known all that! I know that you think you can handle it, but you can't! The smallest change can create a whole Ripley's effect and Chris and I..." Melinda took a deep breath "Chris and I might seize to exist."

* * *

"Okay that...I don't like doing that." Iris said stepping away from Chris, and almost falling on her butt. Her head was light, and her stomach was a knot. Chris chuckled.

"You'll get used to it. Everyone does, eventually." He walked up to Wyatt's playpen and let the boy inside.

"Are these your parents?" Iris asked studying Piper's fallen form.

"Parents and Aunts, yep." he confirmed. Iris smiled a little.

"You look like your mom." she said and glimpsed in his face, just in time to see the ghost of a smile playing at his lips.

"Thanks." Chris' voice was low.

"What do you want me to do?" Iris asked, her gaze trailing over to her Whitelighter; Melinda's expression was serene, and her breathing even. If she didn't know any better she'd think that the girl had fallen asleep.

"It's simple really; just call for her."

"Call...Call for her?" Iris frowned.

"Yeah, call her name. Melinda is your Whitelighter, so when you call her name she has to come to you. It's wired up in our DNA; we can't ignore a call from our charge."

"Okay." Iris muttered nodding "And why couldn't I do that from my own living room?"

"Because Melinda is a powerful witch. I'm expecting the spell to be strong, and I thought that maybe close proximity would help."

"You haven't thought this through, have you?" Iris asked with a knowing smile. Chris crossed his arms and rolled his eyes.

"Look you're the best chance I've got, okay? I've been through the book two times and there was nothing in there. There's a possibility that Melinda will get out of this on her own, but I don't know when that might be. So, I need you."

"Okay, okay. I just have to call her name?"

"You just have to call her name."

Iris drew a deep breath and let it out slowly. She entwined her fingers, bouncing on the balls of her feet.

"Um, Melinda? Melinda, I need your help." she said in a doubtful voice. Nothing changed "Melinda, it's me, it's Iris. Please, come! Melinda, this is urgent!"

* * *

"What's wrong?" Leo was the first one to noticed the distressed expression on Melinda's face.

"I don't know."

"Do you feel okay?" Paige questioned touching her forearm. Melinda swallowed with difficulty, but nodded her head.

"Yeah, it's like...there's something...Do you hear anyone calling my name?" She asked feeling like she was going crazy. Everybody shook their head no, maximizing that feeling "No? But it's so clear...Ow." Her hands came to either side of her head, pressing against her temples.

"Leo what's wrong with her?" Piper asked worried.

"It might have something to do with the spell."

"She doesn't look well." Phoebe muttered.

"It's annoying...the buzzing in my head..." Melinda shut her eyes, and tried to understand what was going on. She could still hear her name, in a dull, thin voice "Are you sure you can't hear someone calling for me?"

"No, why would we lie about that?" Paige went for the defence.

"Okay this makes no..." Melinda shut up. The voice was now more prominent in her mind. It was louder and not hesitant. And she knew that voice "Iris!"

"Iris? Who's Iris?" Piper asked.

"She's Melinda's charge." Leo answered, and a bewildered Piper rounded on him.

"A charge? You gave our almost still teenage daughter someone to look after?"

"I'm not a teenager!" Melinda said aggressively.

"Hush, missy. Leo, what were you thinking?!"

"Well I didn't know she's our daughter, did I?" it felt weird to call Melinda his daughter, but it did also feel kinda right "And besides, she's a Whitelighter; and she was **born** a Whitelighter, she's a natural! And we have a shortage of Whitelighters lately, she was needed."

"Paige is a born Whitelighter, I don't see you guys appointing charges to her!" Piper countered.

"Hey, leave me out of this."

"Paige is also a charmed one. She's firstly a witch, we can't..."

"Okay, can someone tell me how to get out of this, because Iris has been calling for me for about ten minutes now, and I'm getting worried!" Melinda yelled, effectively stopping her parents heated discussion.

"This is your spell, honey. You're the only one who can break it." Phoebe said with a sympathetic expression on her face.

"Great!" Melinda let a heavy sight. She shut her eyes, and willed herself to orb. The familiar feeling of non-existing burst through her, but it lasted for a mare second. When she opened her eyes again she was still surrounded by the black walls of her memories.

"You want some help?" Paige offered.

"I don't need help to orb." Melinda said petulantly. Paige hooked an eyebrow crossing her arms "Okay...I guess, talking it through won't kill me." the smug smile that crept on Paige's face made her glare.

"She looks just like you when she does that." Phoebe pointed out while excitedly nudging Piper's side.

"Okay smarty pants, shut your eyes." Paige ordered. Melinda stared at her for a couple more seconds, but Iris' voice was getting louder and more demanding, so she did as she was told "Now, the first time I orbed during the car crash it was out of fear." Paige said reliving for a second the utter terror she felt when her parents' car was hit by another and proceeded to burst in flames "And the second time, it was also because I was afraid..."

"Oh yeah, Uncle Cole told me about that one." Melinda said, a smile spreading across her face. Piper glimpsed over at Phoebe who also had a relaxed smile on her face. Melinda calling Cole 'uncle' still unsettled her, but Phoebe seemed quite taken with the idea.

"Of course he did." Paige said rolling her eyes "I'm guessing the first time you orbed, you weren't scared..?"

"I don't remember the very first time; I was a baby. But the first conscious orb was when Mum allowed me to get into the attic for the first time; I was ecstatic, couldn't contain myself. The moment I set foot in the attic, I orbed back into my room." Melinda said shaking her head a little; it was obvious in her face that the memory was amusing. Paige chuckled.

"I bet you were a bit upset."

"Oh you have no idea." Melinda said, feeling herself slowly relaxing.

"Okay, afterwards though, you got the hang of it. You didn't have to be excited in order to orb. You just had to concentrate, think of where you want to go-"

"You don't think I know that?"

"I know you do. And I'm sure you're trying. But you're doing it the wrong way." Paige said calmly "This is your spell. I can try orbing out, Leo could try orbing out of it, and we'd never succeed. This spell is powered by you, and you have to orb out of it in your mind first ,and then in your physical form."

"Hmm, she's good." Phoebe mused proudly. Piper agreed with a nod.

"Yeah, maybe you should consider giving her a charge." she said shooting a nasty look at Leo who rolled his eyes.

"I heard that." Paige said without looking at her sister "I know you can do this, miss smarty pants."

* * *

"I think it's working." Chris said not allowing his hopes to go up. He approached Iris, who was towering over Melinda's body, and crouched down next to his sister. Melinda's face was contorted in concentration, her eyebrows furrowed, and the muscles around her mouth tensed. Chris noticed that blue particles floated on the air around her body.

"What is going on?"

"She's trying to orb." Chris muttered brushing his fingers over Melinda's hand "Orbing out of the spell could break it."

"Why can't she?"

"Because her power is split; the spell is still going strong, and it's draining her out. She doesn't have enough in her to manage to orb." Chris explained.

"Then what's going to happen?"

"She'll have to fight it."

"Chris, what's going to happen if she doesn't come out?" Iris asked her voice tainted with fear.

"Don't think like that." Chris said standing up and turning around to face her "Melinda is very strong, she's also very stubborn. If anyone can do this, she can."

* * *

"You're getting angry." Paige noticed "That won't help."

"Well I'm frustrated!" Melinda snapped, her eyes opening.

"I can see that. And I know you're afraid for your charge, but getting angry won't help." Paige repeated her previous statement.

"This is annoying, and much more difficult than it should be!" Melinda whined.

"Considering you're still powering the spell, this is as difficult as it should be." Leo stepped in only to get a death glare from his future daughter.

"God this is all your fault! You couldn't trust me so you had to go and cast a truth spell on me! A truth spell, like I'm some kind of low level demon! And now Iris might pay the price and...Oh god! Oh god if something happens to Iris then Anwen will never be born!" Melinda said frightfully.

"Have you noticed that every time she has an anger out burst, she talks more freely?" Phoebe said and Paige gave her an incredulous look. The middle sister just shrugged.

"Wait, isn't Anwen your charge in your present?" Paige asked recalling one of their previous conversations. Melinda nodded "And you said that if something happened to Iris...No." she shook her head, but Melinda's gaze fell on her shoes "No c'mon." Paige said again, but Melinda remained silent "They gave you your charge's mother as a charge?" a doubtful scoff left her lips.

"Fate chooses the charge; not the Whitelighter." Melinda mumbled.

"But this is crazy."

"No, what's crazy is that Iris is in danger and I'm stuck in my own spell!" Melinda's anger was back full force.

"Okay, easy now." Paige admonished. Melinda was ready to start yelling again, but a stern look from Paige made her rethink that act. She took a deep breath and rolled her shoulders, trying to calm down and unwind.

Piper knew that Paige was only trying to help, but she couldn't help the little voice in the back of her mind saying that it should be her. It should be her who helped Melinda get through this. It should be her who could make her do what she said with one glance. It should be her who joked with the young girl. It just should be her!

"I know what you're thinking Piper." Phoebe whispered in her ear, and Piper looked at her sideways "But you have all the time in the world to fix this relationship. Although I don't think there's anything you need to fix; it's clear that Mel loves you," Phoebe tried to reassure her sister.

"Yeah...Let's hope you're right." Piper whispered back, watching as her baby sister and her daughter tried to get them out of their predicament.

* * *

Chris was still standing guard over Melinda's body. Iris was playing with Wyatt, calling out his sister's name every now and then, knowing how important it was to keep her motivated. The blue particles had now multiplied, but Melinda's expression wasn't as tensed.

"Your brother is really smart for his age." Iris said over Wyatt's giggles, and Chris looked at them over his shoulder.

"Yeah, I keep hearing that."

"And his aura is so bright."

"Wait, you can see his aura? I thought your power was pyrokinesis."

"Pyro what now?"

"Pyrokinesis." Chris said, getting unconsciously in Whitelighter autopilot "That's what it's called when a witch has the power to control one of the four elements, the fire. I didn't know you were an aura reader as well."

"I never thought it was magic related." Iris said with a small frown "I always could do that, ever since I was a child, but back then I just thought it was good instinct and reading people easily. Then when I was a teenager I started looking into all things wiccan, and I came across a book that's meant to teach people how to interpret their aura. I soon realised I didn't need the book."

"Have you told that to Mel?"

"No, just as I said, I didn't know it was magic related. I mean, not **real **magic related."

"Okay, but you will have to tell her as soon-" Chris was cut off by the sound of jingling. He closed his eyes, letting a sigh "Finally."

"Damn, that was hard." Melinda's voice echoed throughout the attic. The young witch sat up, shaking her limbs in order to get the blood in her body circulating again.

"Well well, look who's back." Chris had that look on his face, the one that Melinda liked to call 'Big brother Chris'. Whenever that look appeared, she knew she was in trouble.

"Hey big brother." Melinda said with one of her best smiles, just as everybody around her started steering. Chris looked around alarmed.

"Mel." he said warningly. Melinda felt like her throat was closing.

"Um, no, you...you don't have to worry..." she trailed off. Chris simply stared at her, waiting for her to explain herself "Look, something happened, and you'll hate me, but Iris has been calling for me for quite some time now-"

"Yeah, I know. I told her to do that," Chris said.

"You did?"

"Yeah, it was the only way to get you out of that spell. That's why she's here." Chris said motioning with his head towards Iris.

"She's okay?" Melinda asked, relief shooting through her. Chris' answer was interrupted by a collective groan from the sisters as they sat up.

"So, why will I hate you?" Chris asked, keeping his emotions in check, just barely. Melinda slowly stood up, her fingers playing with the hem of her white top.

"Because...Um, they...they cast a truth spell on me." Melinda couldn't take the look in his eyes so she lowered her head.

"What?"

"They cast a truth spell on me." Melinda repeated "And...and I got angry so I...I cast another spell, one that would allow them to see my memories and...Chris they know." Her voice broke in the end as she raised her eyes to look at him. Chris took a minute to absorb everything, and then he nodded to himself.

"I'm not angry at you." He reassured her, pulling her in a quick hug. Once he released her, he looked at his family, his eyes cold "You cast a truth spell on her? Is that why there's a crystal cage? You put her in a cage and you cast a truth spell on her?"

"Chris, you gotta understand-" Paige started.

"No." Chris's voice was deathly calm "I don't have to understand a thing. We didn't do anything wrong, you did. And now I'm gonna leave before I do or say something I might regret," he said and orbed out without another word.

* * *

**A/N: Kind of a filler I know...I'll understand if you stop reading after this one. I promise I'll try to update soon, but don't hold your breath. Let me know if you liked it or not! **


	18. Chapter 18

**Disclaimer: I don't own the series Charmed or any of the original characters. **

**A/N: Another update in like five days time, damn this must be some kind of record for this story! I'm not so sure about this chapter though, I didn't really like it, but I'll let you guys judge it. Here you go, chapter 18****!**

* * *

"You know, I blame you for this." Piper said looking at Leo.

"Me?" he asked incredulously. Piper nodded.

"Uh-huh, you've always been so secretive." she said giving him a nasty look.

"Ugh, am I the only who noticed the stranger?" Paige said, pointing not so subtly towards Iris.

"She's no stranger, she's my charge." Melinda said defensively.

Iris felt awkward sitting on the couch with Wyatt, surrounded by people she didn't know, but she tried not to show it. Melinda noted that the woman's presence next to Wyatt didn't alarm her parents on the slightest, and sure it could be because they knew that Iris was her charge, but it didn't fail to make her angry. _God knows when they trusted Chris enough to allow him to get anywhere close to Wy_, she thought bitterly.

"C'mon Iris, let's get you home." she said, beckoning the redhead woman to come closer.

"Melinda, wait, we need to talk." Piper said, but Melinda shook her head.

"No. I need to get Iris home, and then go find my brother. Talking can wait." Melinda's voice was firm.

"Hey smarty-pants, I didn't even get a thank you," Paige said cocking her head on the side. Melinda desperately tried to keep the smile for reaching her lips but she failed.

"Fine, fine, thanks I guess, although I could've done it on my own," she added before sticking her tongue out. Paige fake gasped, but there was an amused glint in her eyes.

"Manners young lady, is that the way your mother taught you to act?" Paige reprimanded.

"My mother gave me the perfect manners, thank you very much." Melinda said crossing her arms and raising her head higher "But you corrupted me and..."

"Melinda." Piper's voice brought the young woman's sentence to an abrupt ending "I know that you're still upset with us, but I'm worried about Chris , so could you..." Piper trailed off.

"Right, yeah sorry. I got distracted, you always do that." she said spearing a look towards her younger aunt. Paige smiled smugly "Oh, Iris, for future reference; that's Auntie Paige." she said pointing towards the youngest charmed one, before grabbing Iris' hand and orbing out.

"Why was that important now?" Phoebe questioned, and Piper threw her hands in the air.

"I blame you." she said again looking at Leo.

"Okay, not that I don't like your company, because I do." Paige started "And I love you, but I have a date with Richard..."

"Go, just...go." Piper said waving her hand at her little sister.

"Bye." Paige said with a little wiggle of her fingers, and a Cheshire cat grin, while orbing out.

"I still don't trust this Richard guy." Phoebe mumbled under her breath.

"Phoebe." Piper said warningly, letting her head fall forward. Phoebe winced.

"I know, I know." she said "Oh shoot! It's 4:30, I got a date with Jason in half an hour!" Phoebe exclaimed almost running out of the attic, leaving Piper and Leo alone.

"A date with Jason? Didn't he move...?" Leo said confused. Piper rubbed the back of her neck.

"Internet date...with a camera. It's a long story." Leo chuckled.

"Got it. So...do you wanna talk about it?" he asked awkwardly. Piper looked at him confused for a couple of seconds before she realised he was talking about Chris and Melinda.

"I don't know Leo...I don't think I can manage thinking about it for too long. I'm afraid I'm gonna go into panic mode and I can't have that."

"But Piper, we gotta talk about it, at some point." Leo insisted.

"I know, but later. Maybe when one of them comes around. Not today, I can't..." Leo nodded in understanding.

"Okay." Piper offered him a grateful smile "I'm gonna leave you and Wyatt alone-"

"Actually." Piper cut him off, playing with a lock of her hair "Could you keep him tonight? I got a..." saying the word wasn't easy, but Piper forced herself to "I got a date and the girls are...not available. I would call dad, but I thought since you're here..."

Leo was stunned. He remained silent for a whole minute, with Piper feeling more and more awkward as she stood next to him. She finally snapped her fingers in front of his face, making him jump.

"What? No, yeah, I mean...Yeah, I can keep him." he stumbled over his words.

"Great!" Piper exclaimed, and started towards the door. She really needed a long, warm bubble bath.

"Piper, wait." Leo said before he could stop himself "You're going out on a date?"

"Um, yeah?"

"Really? After everything we saw today...You're going out on a date?" Leo asked, feeling his temper rising.

"Leo, I don't expect you to understand. But I want you to trust me; I need this...I won't stay out long." Piper promised, and then when he didn't say anything back, she left.

* * *

Melinda had just dropped Iris to her apartment when she appeared outside P3. She'd debated with herself, about whether Chris would be at the club or at the Golden Gate Bridge, when she decided it didn't really mutter; she'd just check both places. It so happened P3 to be her first choice. A fully crowded P3. One with a stupid guard who wouldn't let her in without showing her ID. Thankfully a little flirting went a long way. Melinda shuddered visibly as she walked down the stairs of the infamous club.

She looked around the place filled with people in her age, dancing, drinking, having fun. Melinda stood still for a second remembering the first time she'd been in P3 after six in the evening. She was thirteen and her mom was in a chef convention, just four months before she died. Melinda had talked Anwen into sneaking in the club; it wasn't an easy task. Anwen was even more of a goody-goody than Chris and she needed a lot of coaxing. But Melinda was a Haliwell and she knew how to get what she wanted. She'd orbed them in the ladies room, and had order Anwen to play it cool and not accept a drink if someone offered her one. The night was going smoothly when during one of her favourite songs, Melinda spotted Chris and Wyatt descending the stairs with determined looks on their faces. Needless to say the night had an unceremonious ending.

"Hey, can I buy you a drink?" someone asked. If the slurring wasn't an indicator, the stench of vodka coming in waves off of him told her all she needed to know about him.

"I don't know; **can **you?" she shot back, thinking that Chris would be proud of her sarcasm. The guy looked at her confused, and she rolled her eyes. She started walking away, when she felt a hand on her arm.

"Oh c'mon, just one drink," he said pinning in her eyes "I promise you won't regret it."

"I already do." she said freeing her hand. She fastened her pace, hoping to lose him in the crowd. But luck was never on her side, so just as she was about to open the door to the back room, the one Chris used as a bedroom, the sleazy guy stumbled in front of her.

"Now, now, that's not a very lady-like behave- behavr..."

"Behaviour." Melinda finished his sentence. He blinked at her, before realizing what she said and then nodded "Okay, I'm not in a mood for a drink, there. Was that lady-like?" she asked, her hands coming to her hips.

"It's just one drink."

"Dude, why is it so hard to understand; no means no," Melinda said and made a move to get in the room. Yet again his hand came to her arm, and it was now accompanied by another hand on her waist. Melinda shivered, and when she felt the alcohol stained breath crashing on her skin, she was sure she'd gag.

"Just one drink/" the voice was almost commanding in her ear.

Melinda had had enough. Drawing in a deep breath, she caught the hand that was lying on her arm, and with a swift move she twirled it around and behind his back. The man groaned in pain, and she pushed him towards the floor with both hands, before disappearing behind the door that would lead her to Chris' bedroom.

"Creep," she muttered taking a deep breath.

After a much needed moment of relaxation Melinda looked around searching for Chris. She didn't need to do much searching though. Her brother was pushed up against the wall, his face screwed up in pain, as a brunette woman stood in front of him, her hand shoved inside his chest. They were both looking at her, as she had obviously interrupted something. The girl blinked.

"Bianca?" she whispered in confusion, looking at the other woman. Chris whimpered in pain, and Melinda reacted instinctively, raising both hands and blowing the Phoenix into oblivion. Without Bianca holding him against the wall, and with a non-healable wound on his chest, Chris slid down the wall, breathing heavily.

"Chris!"

"I'm fine." Chris groaned, his hand coming up to his chest. Melinda knelt next to him and pried the buttons of his blouse open.

"Fine?" she said doubtfully looking at the gushing wound on his torso. Chris also looked down on himself, probing the raw skin with his fingertips, causing Melinda to swat his fingers away.

"I've had worse, Mel. This is nothing." He tried to sound reassuring but it didn't work. In all honesty he had no idea what Bianca had done to him. All he knew was that he felt tired, like he'd ran a marathon tired.

"I can't heal this," Melinda said after studying the wound. She looked at her brother, who was a minute too late in trying to hide the worry from his eyes. "Chris, she did something to temper with your powers, I can feel it. Why would Bianca do something to hurt you?"

"I don't know." Chris said truthfully "The only thing I can think of..." he trailed off, but then he violently shook his head "No, she'd never do that."

"She'd never do what?"

"She would never betray me."

* * *

Leo was reading a bed time story to Wyatt, when he heard the noise coming from the attic. Settling the already asleep toddler in his cradle, Leo orbed to the highest store of the house, only to come face to face with his other two children.

"...I'm telling you there's no way she-" Chris went on, not knowing that someone had joined them. Melinda who was leafing through the book of shadows, suddenly stopped.

"Leo." She muttered, alerting Chris to the newcomer's presence "What are you still doing here?"

"I'm looking after Wyatt."

"Why? Where are the girls?" Chris' voice was demanding, something that Leo didn't particularly appreciate. The older man though managed to keep his annoyance in check.

"They all had dates." Leo said, the final word leaving a bitter taste in his mouth. Melinda scoffed, but Chris grimaced in detest.

"Right, fireman Greg." He said under his breath.

"Okay, now that we covered that, what are you two doing here?" Leo questioned.

"That's none of your business." Chris said coolly.

"Chris I know we've had our differences, but..." Leo started to reason with him.

"No, not 'buts'." Chris cut him off. He was pacing back and forth in front of the book of shadows, when one of the floorboards creaked under his shoe. Chris looked down at it, and then raised his eyes to Leo "You should fix this unless you want it to turn into a hole." H instructed, before turning his attention to Melinda "And I told you, there's no need for a vanquishing potion."

"Vanquishing potion?" Leo asked, a worry undertone in his voice "Why? What happened?"

"Someone tried to..."

"Nothing." Chris spoke over Melinda's voice. The younger witch looked at him sternly, but Chris held his ground.

"Maybe I could help." Leo said hopefully.

"There's nothing to help with." Chris' voice was curt. Leo turned his gaze towards Melinda. The girl hesitated only for a second, letting a long sigh before addressing her brother.

"Look, Chris, I'm not saying I'm going to use the potion. But I am going to make it. You know that if she comes back it won't be so we can talk this out. And I'm not going to let her hurt you, understood?" Melinda spoke with an air of authority Chris hadn't seen from her before.

"You're not using a potion on her either way."

"Oh yeah?" Melinda said challengingly "Well then, try to stop me."

Chris narrowed his eyes, and it looked like he was going to say something, but he didn't. He huffed in indignation, and after a final look to his sister he orbed out. Soon as he was gone, Melinda released the breath she was holding. She leaned on the podium that held the book, and ran both hands through her hair.

"What happened?" Leo's voice while gentle, managed to startle her. She'd forgotten he was in there.

"Chris will kill me if I tell you." She mumbled without looking at him. With a resigned sigh she reopened the book and started looking for the Phoenix vanquishing potion.

"No he won't, he'd never hurt you." Leo said in a low voice.

Ever since Melinda had come back from the future Leo had seen a new side of Chris; the young man wasn't as business-like as he used to be, he seemed to really care about the younger girl. He saw Melinda smiling to herself, and he felt hopeful. He took a step towards her and started again.

"Look, Melinda I know that I don't really know you, and our behaviour towards you, and Chris, has been..."

"Awful?" Melinda supplied the word when his sentence trailed off, still focused on the book. Leo made a grimace but didn't disagree.

"But you've got to understand that if you were in our shoes, you would've reacted the same way..."

"No I wouldn't." Melinda said matter-of-factly.

"It's not that we didn't want to trust you, we did; but you didn't give us anything to trust on..."

"So that gives you the right to cast a truth spell on me?" Melinda cut him off again. When Leo didn't say anything she looked up, straight into his eyes "Don't try to excuse your actions on the basis of 'we just wanted some answers' because it won't work Leo." She said coldly.

"It's the truth though." Melinda rolled her eyes "Melinda." started once more, his voice placating; that was a wrong sign from the straight beginning "We knew nothing about Chris, or you, and we had to trust you blindly, and not only that, but let you near Wyatt. I know you're not a parent, so it's normal for you to not understand..." Melinda scoffed, making him pause.

"Not understand?" she questioned scoffing again "I'm the one who doesn't understand?" she demanded, her eyes getting darker "Let me make one thing clear to you, Leo; I understand perfectly well. I understand what it feels like to not be able to trust **anyone **because the person who was meant to always be there for you, to always take care of you, is the one responsible for all the pain you've been through." She said pinning in his eyes, her voice steady and low "I understand what it feels like to be scared for your family, to not know whether you'd be able to ever see them again, once they leave the house, or not. I understand what it feels like to be imprisoned in your own house. So don't stand right there and feel entitled in your 'I'm a parent' mantra, because you are the one who doesn't understand."

Leo was stunned into silence. He would've preferred a physical assault instead of the monologue he'd just received. The raw emotion in Melinda's voice made him flinch more than once, and the haunted shadows that flashed through her eyes as she spoke made his heart constrict.

"That won't happen again." He promised, but Melinda looked unfazed "I won't let it happen again, I promise you that."

"Promises can be broken." Melinda whispered her eyes falling back to the book "I've learnt that the hard way."

Leo felt the need to comfort her. He'd do anything in his power to take all her pain away, but Melinda had put up a wall around her, a wall so high and thick that nothing could penetrate it. As much as he wanted to console her, Melinda didn't want him too. And he couldn't blame her, not after seeing what she'd been through with her father.

"What happened to Chris? Maybe I could help?" he offered again. Melinda tapped her finger against the page, and looked at him under her eyelashes.

"You know you're a hypocrite, don't you?" she asked "Just because you know the truth, doesn't mean that anything changed."

"How can you say that? Everything changed." Melinda chuckled bitterly.

"No, just because you know that you're my father, nothing changes." Melinda's voice rise "You've never been there my whole life, you even claimed that I wasn't your own child when you first found out!" her voice was calm, but her eyes were shinning with anger "It took me a while to realise that you didn't care for me, and when I did, I stopped carrying for you too; it was much easier than I thought. And don't you think that you'll have a better chance with Chris, because you're in for a rude awakening, trust me."

When Melinda was done she averted her eyes; she couldn't stand the heartbroken look on Leo's eyes. She knew that she should've kept her mouth shut, she knew that accusing him of everything that her father did wasn't fair; this Leo wasn't her dad, not yet and hopefully not ever. But Melinda had been meaning to say these things for years now.

Her satisfaction of finally putting her father in his place was tainted though by guilt. What she did was wrong, and she knew it. _It's not like he's a saint though, think of everything he's put Chris through, _Melinda tried to excuse herself. _Yes but Chris hasn't been honest with them, he's been lying and manipulating them from the start, _a tiny voice said from the back of her mind. With a regretful sigh, Melinda returned her gaze to the man she grew up calling 'dad'.

"I'm sorry." She said truthfully "I shouldn't have snapped at you. It's not your fault. But you need to understand that knowing changes nothing. Chris is still here on a mission, and I'm here by mistake. And when we find a way for me to cross over, I'll go back to that place where he..." Melinda brought herself to a stop. She'd already over shared.

"It's okay, I understand." Leo said. Melinda looked at him for a long second before nodding to herself.

"Right. I'm gonna...gonna go make this potion." She said shutting the book.

"I'll be in Wyatt's room, if you need me." Leo said. They shared a short, awkward glance before they both orbed in different rooms of the house.

* * *

Waking up at Richard's place Paige felt weird. She had had a restless night, twirling around on the bed, thinking instead of sleeping. Her feelings were all mingled up, and she decided that since sleep was elusive she'd try to sort them out. And so a long night started.

The predominant one was shame. Shame for the spell they'd cast on Melinda, shame for the way they'd treated Chris who'd turned out to be family, shame for not going up against Piper when she suggested to cast the spell. She knew in her heart, long before she found out that Melinda was her niece, that she trusted the girl, and that she wanted to help her. So she couldn't forgive herself for going through with the truth spell. And as for Chris...

Her stomach turned when she remembered of all the times she'd said something insulting or sarcastic to him. They never took him seriously, they never believed in him, never trusted him as their Whitelighter. True, Chris' behaviour was shady, but he was only trying to help. Maybe if they'd been more cooperative, he would've opened up to them. Maybe if they'd shut up and listened to him they would've avoided a lot of frustration and many fights. But they didn't. And now that the truth was out, staring them in the face, and pocking its tongue out teasingly, Paige couldn't help but feel sick.

The next feeling she could decipher was fear. The memory of Leo ordering Wyatt to kill another Elder was still very fresh in her mind, making her skin prickle. What could happen in the future to turn her sweet, soft spoken, pacifist Whitelighter to a man who didn't hesitate to kill someone in front of his own children? And more importantly why didn't they stop him? Why didn't the legendary Charmed Ones interfere?

The easy answer was because they were dead, and even though it made her shiver in fear, it was the one answer she'd like to be true. Because the other two where that they'd either join him, or that they simply didn't care. And death was a much better choice than the other two.

There was another feeling though, one that she tried to smother. She put it in a little box in her mind, and buried it under a tone of other things, but somehow it still made its way up to the surface. Doubt. Doubt for her relationship with Richard. Somehow that was the one feeling that she desperately wanted to get rid of, but she couldn't.

Melinda had said that her husband was a Whitelighter. And Richard was quite obviously not one. She couldn't rule out the possibility that he might become one in the afterlife, but that meant that Richard was going to die. And she certainly didn't want that. So Richard would either die, or their relationship had no future, which was...not good. Paige didn't know if she could invest in a relationship that had no future. Of course there was always the possibility that the future wouldn't turn out like it did in Melinda's time line. But was that good enough?

So when Richard walked in the bedroom with a tray full of breakfast and a red rose all she could muster was 'Wow'. She was so confused, and tired that she was reduced to monosyllables. Her mind was completely elsewhere, but she snapped back to reality when Richard started talking about her moving in. She was sure that Richard would be able to read the hesitation in her eyes, and that would likely open a whole new can of worms, so she was immensely thankful when her mobile went off.

* * *

Phoebe had fallen asleep in the conference room. She was rudely awakened by Ruddy, the cleaning man, when he banged the door open and started swiping while whistling. She hastily pulled herself together, bid him good morning, and retrieved to her office. She locked her door and leaned against it taking a deep breath.

She was on the laptop until four in the morning talking with Jason. Of course half her mind was on the conversation, and the other half of it was reeling from all the information she'd gained that very morning. Jason noticed that there was something wrong, but she lied effortlessly saying that Wyatt had caught a bug and she was a bit worried about him.

What was she doing talking to Jason? Jason who was two continents away, Jason who was a mortal, who would never understand. Jason who wasn't Cole.

She was angry with herself. So, so angry. She couldn't believe that she was still hang up on Cole, she couldn't believe that after everything he'd put her through she still loved him. But it was a feeling that went beyond her. It went beyond rationality and sensibility. It was something she couldn't help. She hated him just as much as she loved him, and she doubted she'd ever feel as strongly for another man ever.

Not that she didn't love Jason, she did. And it was a safe love, a warm, and sweet and most of all healthy love. She didn't have to worry whether or not he'd go ballistic over night and start murdering people. She didn't have to worry whether or not her love was enough to keep him sane. She just didn't need to worry.

And she would've been perfectly satisfied with this love if Jason was there with her. But he wasn't. He was in Hong Kong and she was in San Francisco. And right there in the middle of them was Melinda and 'Uncle Cole'. And she just couldn't oversee that, or how much Melinda loved and cared about Cole. How fiercely protective she was over keeping his resurrection a secret in fear something would go wrong.

So when Elise suggested she should move to Hong Kong it was the first time that the thought of doing that wasn't accompanied by longing. In the last month she'd thought a lot about following Jason, on a trial month thing, and whenever she told herself that it couldn't happen because of many reasons, there was always this pang of longing, this part of her that didn't care about witchcraft, and wanted to lose itself in Jason and his love. But now everything was different. And yet in a weird way, it wasn't.

* * *

Piper wasn't in the mood for a date, but she knew she needed to get out of the house. She needed to get away from Leo, away from her sisters, and most of all away from Chris and Melinda. Her guilt was going to drive her crazy if she didn't find an outlet, and getting drunk was the best option she had.

Thankfully Greg was a talker. He went on and on and on about a rescue they had that morning. All that Piper had to do was nod, hum and say a 'yes' or a 'really?' whenever he paused for air. Piper appreciated the time she got for herself, and she attentively started going through the tangled mess of thoughts and emotions inside her head.

Surprisingly the first thing that popped in her mind was the memory of Melinda waking up in the middle of the night crying, and Cole coming in to console her. More surprising the reason why the memory stood apart from everything else wasn't because of her hatred towards the half-demon, but because of his words.

"_You think your brothers or your Aunts will let whoever did it off the hook without a proper punishment?"_

No mother. There was no mention of her in his words. And when she came up in the conversation, she was spoken about in past tense. Soon as the realisation sunk in, the restaurant started spinning around her, and Piper had to grab at the table to keep herself from toppling over. How didn't they notice that? They were so focused on the fact that Cole was there, that no one noticed what he and Melinda were talking about. But thinking about it now, Piper was certain; what had scared her daughter away was a nightmare about her death.

Piper was near tears. Melinda was roughly fourteen years old in that memory, and Piper was already dead by then. Breathing was hard, not crying was even harder, and pretending to be calm while listening to Greg's ramblings was nearly impossible but Piper pulled it off like a pro. On the inside she was dying, thinking of how her children would be left motherless and with a father who was clearly insane, but on the outside just by looking at her face no one could guess anything.

Her voice while stained when she asked for the check didn't give away anything, and she even agreed to go for a drink over at Greg's house. She wasn't sure why she agreed on that, she just knew she wasn't ready to get back home.

Piper tried to cheer herself up, thinking that she would be a mother again, and soon too. But that plan backfired when she remembered of all the horrible staff she'd said to Chris, when she remembered of her mistrust and coldness. She still had no idea why Chris came from the future, but she knew that her baby boy was trying to save Wyatt, and all they'd done was disagree with everything he said.

Piper had never felt worse in her life. All her angry words towards Chris flew inside her mind, repeating themselves in a loud, cruel voice. She recalled the times she'd seen a flash of hurt in his eyes, always after something she'd said or done, and how she'd time and again dismissed it. She remembered of how she put him down, how she yelled at him, and she felt her stomach sinking to her knees. How was he ever going to forgive her? She couldn't forgive herself, that one was certain.

It was well after midnight when she got back home. All the lights were off, and Piper tried to be as silent as she could; the last think she needed was for Wyatt to wake up. She walked up to her son's nursery, and leaned against the frame of the door, looking at the toddler sleeping soundly in his crib. The tears that whelmed her eyes soon started trickling down her cheeks, but she made no move to wipe them.

Feeling ready to pass out, Piper had the urge to check on Melinda. She walked down the hallway and towards Paige's room, soundlessly opening the door, but there was no one there. As if on cue, Piper heard shuffling coming from the attic. She had half the mind to go and talk to her, but she still wasn't ready for that confrontation.

So instead she turned around and headed towards her bedroom, with a heavy head and an even heavier heart, hoping that sleep would somehow make her problems go away.

* * *

Melinda woke up as the sunlight filtered through the windows of the attic, attacking her eyes. She became quickly aware of a heaviness on her chest, and apprehensively she opened her eyes to find out what caused it. She saw the book, resting on top of her chest, moving rhythmically up and down as she breathed.

She brushed her eyes to shoo away the last remains of sleepiness and with her other hand she removed the book from her person. She'd fallen asleep while going through Chris' list of potential threats for Wyatt. She sat up on Aunt Pearl's couch, rolling her neck. Her muscles protested and she made a grimace of pain.

She'd also tried to find something that could be useful for her trip back home, but there was nothing in the book. She ended up thinking that they could simply modify the spell that Chris used, but only after they found out who was the one to turn Wyatt. Melinda guiltily thought of her brothers, and the rest of her family, of the resistance and Leo, and she shivered. She missed them, and she was so scared for them. She was already gone for almost two weeks now, and she was certain that by now Leo knew. But she'd promised herself to help Chris, and she wasn't going to break that promise. She could only hope that Leo wouldn't take his anger out on her brothers.

Melinda jumped up, knocking the book down in the process, when she felt Chris; he was hurt. Her heartbeats quickly sped up, and then she heard a loud thumb from downstairs. She orbed just in time to see everyone gathering around her brother's fallen form.

"Chris!" she yelled rushing next to him. She fell on her knees next to his body, and cradled his head in her hands.

Chris' forehead was sweaty, and his whole body was trembling with shivers. His eyes were shut, and he seemed to be in some kind of trance, Bianca's name falling from his lips every now and then.

"What's wrong with him?" she heard Piper's voice but she had no time for that.

She swiftly stood up, and without giving any explanation to the people gathered around her, she orbed Chris on the couch. She then went to the bathroom to grab a washcloth and a bucket of water.

When she walked back to the living room, she found all of them standing around the couch. Piper's eyes were misty, and Phoebe's full of worry. Paige was the only one trying to hide her anxiety, but she wasn't doing a very good job at it.

"Give him some space to breathe, will you?" she barked annoyed, as she sat on the coffee table.

"Melinda what's wrong with him?" Piper demanded. The younger witch ignored her as she unbuttoned Chris's blouse, to inspect once again the wound. She heard Piper's gasp, and Phoebe turned her face away. Paige wrinkled her nose, and looked questioningly at Leo.

"What's that?" she asked, but the Elder shrugged.

"I don't know."

"It doesn't matter! Just heal him!" Piper ordered.

"It won't work." Melinda informed them. She dipped the washcloth in the water and slowly ran it over Chris' feverish forehead, as everybody looked at her for explanation "Think of it as a virus; something is draining out his power, and it will not allow the healing. The only reason Chris still has his powers is because I walked in when Bianca tried to strip him from them."

"Bianca?" Phoebe questioned, and Melinda cursed internally "You mean to say, you know whoever did this to him?"

"Actually we both do." _They might as well know the whole story, _she thought to herself "Chris better than I do."

"What do you mean?" Paige asked raising both her eyebrows. Melinda looked up at her "Were they like..."

"Dating?" Melinda finished and Paige nodded "Yeah. In fact Chris was thinking to propose..."

"Isn't she a demon?" Piper asked.

"No, she's actually a witch." Melinda responded. The three older women simply gaped at her "Things are not just black and white Piper, you need to understand that. You all need to understand that. There are shades of grey too, some darker and some lighter. And where Chris and I come from...they are entwined most of the time; you can't have the one without the other." Piper had tried not to flinch when Melinda said her name so coldly but she failed miserably. Melinda noticed Chris clenching something in his hand, and she gently pried it off.

"Oh, Chris." She whispered when she saw the engagement ring.

"Is that what I think it is?" Phoebe asked and Melinda nodded sadly.

"Obviously an acrimonious split." Paige nodded.

"They haven't split." Melinda said wiping Chris' forehead again.

"They haven't?" Paige sounded surprised. Melinda shook her head no "Then why would she try to kill him?"

"She didn't try to kill him. Just to strip him of his powers. She wants to take him back." Melinda explained. Paige nodded in understanding.

"Well at least we've got something to scry for her. If we want to save Chris we need to know what she did to him, and this ring will help." Piper said extending her hand in demand of the ring. Melinda handed it to her, never taking her eyes off her brother "Paige, you work on the vanquishing potion..."

"No need for that." Melinda cut her off taking the vial out of her pocket.

"Nice job there smarty-pants." Paige said with an appreciative smile that Melinda didn't return.

"We're not going to use it though, this is a very last resort solution."

"Melinda, this is..."

"No, I'm not going to let you murder Bianca, okay?" Melinda's eyes momentarily shifted to Leo, before they returned to Chris. _Not again, _she added mentally.

Ten minutes passed before the sisters returned to the living room. All the while Melinda stood guard next to Chris, with Leo pacing the room. Chris' temperature was higher than before, and his words were more slurred now.

"We found Bianca." Piper announced.

"Are you sure she's the one we want? Because Bianca's older than Chris, meaning that currently there are two versions of her." Melinda said.

"No she's the one we want. The ring belonged to the older Bianca so that's who the crystal pointed us to."

"Okay, go bring her then."

"Melinda we'll need the potion."

"Forget it Piper, I told you; I'm not going to let you murder Bianca."

"That's not what we want to do." Paige interjected "But we need to be prepared for-"

Paige suddenly stopped talking, making Melinda frown. The older witch also frowned for the fraction of a second, before a lazy smile spread across her face. Melinda turned her attention to Phoebe and Piper who also looked different.

"Be prepared for what?" Leo, who hadn't seen the change in their body language, questioned.

"To move into Richard's house." Paige said beaming at him. Leo did a double take.

"Are you going to do that? Good for you!" Piper said and Paige grinned.

"That's a great idea." Phoebe agreed.

"It is, isn't it?" Phoebe nodded enthusiastically, while Leo and Melinda exchanged a wary look.

"And I think I'm gonna go check out what's going on in Hong Kong." Phoebe said bouncing happily on the balls of her feet.

"Cool." Paige mused.

"Hang on a second, this isn't you guys." Leo tried to resonate with them "You must be under some kind of spell. You have to fight this."

"How can you fight your heart?" Phoebe questioned.

"Oh, please I'm gonna gag." Melinda muttered under her breath, earning a nasty look from Phoebe.

"Or your hormones?" Piper added, and was accompanied by exclamations of approval.

"Oh god, seriously, I'm gonna be sick." Melinda said with a disgusted expression on her face. The last thing she wanted to think about was Piper's hormones.

"Will you drop me off on the way to Richard's?" Phoebe asked.

"I would love to."

"No, no, Phoebe, Paige listen to me..." Leo started, but they'd already orbed out.

"Okay, so Wyatt is sleeping, the monitor is in the kitchen." Piper started heading towards the door "Melinda, be a good girl for your dad, and find a way to make Chris okay, ok?" she said with a grin and Melinda just blinked at her "I won't be back any time soon. Bye!" and with that she left.

"Okay what...What was that?" Melinda asked rounding around to look at Leo.

"Obviously some kind of spell."

"Bianca." Melinda said darkly.

Just as the name left her lips, the woman herself appeared in the middle of the room. Melinda was stunned into place, but Leo sprung in action as the Phoenix moved towards Chris. Leo though was no match for the trained assassin who knocked him out cold in mare seconds.

"C'mon, let's get you home." Bianca said crouching over Chris' form but before she could fade out Melinda let a strangled cry and launched herself towards her, managing to grab her arm.

Bianca only realised that she had company when she reappeared in the dishevelled living room of her mother's apartment. She shook Melinda off, and before the witch had the chance to attack, she slammed her against a wall, knocking her head on it repeatedly until she passed out.

* * *

**A/N: So...that was longer than usual, but it doesn't mean it was better ...What do you think? Loved it? Hated it? Please let me know, I'd love to hear your thoughts on it! Until next time, bye-bye!**


	19. Chapter 19

**Disclaimer: I don't own the series Charmed or any of the original characters. **

**A/N: ****Back to the short chapters people! I'm not particularly taken with this chapter, but oh well! I hope you'll like it more than I do!**

* * *

The first think that Chris was aware of when he came to it, was that he wasn't home. The second, that he felt really weak. He saw Bianca's face hovering over his, and he tried to raise his hand and touch her face, but he soon remembered what had happened. He blinked to shoo the dizziness away and then glared at her.

"What did you do to me?" his voice was hoarse.

"I just saved your life." Bianca said flippantly pulling away from him. Chris narrowed his eyes.

"By taking away my powers?" Bianca rolled her eyes. She stood up and moved towards the wall. Taking a piece of chalk out of her pocket, she started drawing a triqueta on the wall "How are you gonna bring me back anyway? That spell's a one-way door; it only goes back in time." Chris said sitting up.

"He created a new spell because of you." Bianca said her attention split between the wall and Chris "One that goes both ways." Chris gave her a face of mock appreciation.

"Ow, I'm touched."

"You should be. He's gone to a lot of trouble to get you back."

"Yeah, I see that." Chris felt the burning behind his eyes, but he wasn't going to cry in front of her. Bianca had seen him angry, starved, scared, but she'd never seen him cry, not when they were together, when she loved him, and Chris would surely not let her see his tears now.

Bianca bit on her lip to keep herself from talking. If only he knew how much worse things were now. Chris was gone for almost eight months, he had no idea what Wyatt had managed to do in his absence. She finished off the triqueta and threw the chalk away, dusting her hands off.

"You know, you don't have to believe me, Chris." She started turning around to look at him "But this really is for the best." Chris scoffed under his breath.

"Oh really?" he said sarcasm dripping from his words "How's that?"

"Because this is your only chance to live." She said harshly "If I fail to bring you back, he'll send assassin after assassin, and all they'll have to bring home is a body."

"Doesn't matter anyway." Chris said sitting back against the couch "I'm dead either way."

"No." Bianca said immediately, her mask dropping if only for a second. Chris didn't seem to notice though "He promised me he won't hurt you."

"Did he now?" Chris asked, narrowing his eyes at her "And you believed him?" Bianca remained silent "I thought you were smarter than that. But I guess my dear brother had you fooled, just like everybody else."

Could he be right? Was she fooled? _No_, Bianca shook her head; Wyatt wouldn't kill Chris, he loved him too much to do that. And yet he'd spent months torturing him, after Chris turned his back to him, he spent months haunting down the Haliwells, killing them in the most brutal ways just to break Chris' spirit..._But he's never tried to kill him! Didn't all this start because Wyatt wanted to keep Chris safe? He'd never take it as far as killing him. _

"C'mon time's up." Bianca said recalling herself. Chris didn't make a move "C'mon Chris, don't make this more difficult than it has to be."

"How can you be so...cruel? So cold?" Chris demanded, his eyes shining with tears he refused to shed "How can you stand there pretending we never meant anything to each other?"

"Because I don't have a choice." Bianca said slowly, insinuating every word "Now get up." She ordered.

"Bianca, please don't do this." He begged as he slowly stood from the couch "Please don't give up on everything we fought for."

"I'm not." Her eyes softened if only for a minute, her mask slipping once again. "I'm just hoping we can find another way."

"There is no other way."

"Well, you always said I was the optimist out of the two of us." She said with a smile that reminded him of the fiancé he left back home, the one that had nothing to do with the cold hearted witch in front of him.

"You expect me to jump into this thing like I did before?" Chris questioned eyeing the triqueta.

"No." Bianca said honestly "That's why I needed leverage." Chris looked at her questioningly. With a wave of her hand, Melinda's unconscious form appeared next to Bianca, who was quick to wrap an arm around the girl's waist to keep her on her feet.

"What did you do to her?" Chris demanded angrily, his hands instantly curling into fists.

"Oh relax, she'll be okay soon. She seemed awfully protective of you earlier tonight. Who is she? New girlfriend?" Bianca tried to keep her expression aloof, but Chris could see that the idea didn't sit well with her.

"Doesn't matter, you don't need her. You got me. Leave her out of this."

"Uh-huh, Chris, Chris, Chris." Bianca shook her head "I'm not that stupid. I need to know that you'll come with, and that you won't make anything silly, like try to get away again. So she's coming."

"No, Bianca, you can't take her there." Chris' voice was desperate "Wyatt cannot know about her!"

"Look, I'm sure Wyatt won't care about your little girlfriend. He's probably going to spear her life, if only because she's the reason why you agreed to come with me."

"No, please you don't understand! If he finds out who she is...You don't know what he'll do!"

"Why? Who is she?" Bianca asked again, this time more suspiciously looking at the unconscious girl in her arms.

"I can't tell you that..."

"Hey, future girl." Chris was cut off by Piper.

They both turned to look at her, just as Piper drew out the potion phial that Melinda had forgotten on top of the coffee table. Bianca's reflexes were faster though, drawing the athame off its sheath, and holding it against Melinda's neck.

"I can kill her in half the time it takes you to think about it." Bianca said, pressing the knife ever so lightly on Melinda's skin, not enough to break skin, but enough to make Piper scowl in anger.

"We still have enough potion to vanquish you." Paige bluffed. Bianca cocked an eyebrow, and tilted her head on the side.

"Maybe, but do you really wanna have her blood on your hands?"

"If you dare to as much as scratch her, you're dead." Piper snarled.

"Why is everyone so over-protective over this girl?" Bianca voiced loudly.

"Because she's-"

"Their innocent." Chris cut Phoebe off. Bianca looked at him doubtfully "That's why you can't take her to the future, Bianca, she's just an innocent."

"Forget it Chris, she's coming." Bianca turned her attention to the wall "Now, where were we?"

It all happened so fast, but Chris could swear it was in slow motion. Piper threw the vanquishing potion, but Bianca turned around in a split second, throwing her dagger at it, causing it to explode on impact. Piper managed to freeze it mid air before it hit her, but she didn't see Bianca fading out, and then fading in, grabbing the athame and bringing it to her chest.

"Don't make me hurt you." She said slowly, pinning in her eyes.

"Chris, what are you doing? Orb her away!" Phoebe urged. Chris who had stepped in and caught Melinda before she hit the ground, looked at her defeated.

"I can't, she stripped me of my powers."

"If anything happens to either one of them, there will be hell to pay." Piper's words sounded even more menacing than Bianca's. Chris' saw her hand twitching; Bianca was always short tempered.

"Bianca don't; you know that if you kill her, there won't be a future for us to go back to."

"You're lucky he's right." Bianca faded, and reappeared next to Chris. With a wave of her hand the portal started glowing with a bright blue colour.

"Chris." Piper said helplessly looking at her youngest son. Chris still holding Melinda's body, turned to look at her one last time, a sad smile playing on his lips.

"I'm sorry, for all the lies."

The cogs turned in his head trying to find a way out of this, if not for his then for Melinda's shake. He tried to block their hurt faces, as his empath powers that he usually had under control, were getting the better out of him. Chris had only seconds in his disposal, and as it happened in cheesy flicks, the whole time he'd spent with his family in the past, the 'stolen-time' as he referred to it, flashed before his eyes. Everything from the moment he introduced himself to them while saving Paige from the Titans, to the cleaners erasing Wyatt from existence, to him drawing Excalibur out of the rock, to the last time he saw Leo in the attic. Chris' shoulders slammed as he accepted his defeat, and he was about to walk through the portal when it came to him.

"Looks like Leo will have to fix that floorboard without me afterall." He threw out, knowing that the offhand comment would probably confuse them, but hoping that they'd figure it out.

"Let's go." Bianca said lying her hand on his shoulder. Chris retrieved his gaze, and reluctantly took a step towards the portal. The last thing he heard before he was blinded by the light was his name coming out of his mother's lips. Then there was just light, bright, warm light for a second, and then...

"Welcome home, Chris."

"Hello, Wyatt."

* * *

"Well, well, Bianca, I'm sorry I doubted you." Wyatt said smiling at the witch, as his cronies threw her dirty looks "I should've known that if anyone could bring my little brother home that would be you. Congratulations are in order, and of course a reward." Wyatt said holding his hand up. A small pouch appeared in his hand, and he carelessly tossed it her way.

"A reward?" Chris whispered, his heartache only getting worse "Money? You brought me back for money?" he asked incredulously, feeling his heart constrict inside his ribcage. Bianca ignored him.

"I don't need no reward." She said coolly, throwing the money back to Wyatt "You know why I did it." She said with a knowing look.

"Oh yes, of course, my bad." Wyatt said shaking his head "You only wanted Chris to come back alive, not dead."

"And I want him to stay that way."

"But of course, I would never cause him any harm intentionally." Wyatt said with a sincerity that anyone who wasn't Chris would've bought. But Chris only scoffed "Rest assure little witch, Chris won't be joining the rest of the family any time soon." Wyatt turned towards his demonic entourage "They are no threat to me. Go." He ordered them. When the last one was gone, Wyatt shook his head in disgust "Foul creatures."

"Foul creatures, but still you work with them." Bianca pointed out.

"Only because I have too. Only because our kind can't see that my way is the right way." Wyatt said heatedly "Which brings me to another point; Et tu Chris? Of all the people to betray me..." Wyatt trailed off.

"I did not betray you." Chris said softly. Wyatt arched an eyebrow, studying his face "I only went back to save you. Stop whatever evil turned you..."

"That has always been your problem, little brother." Wyatt cut him off "Stuck in the old good-versus-evil morass. I'm so past that. All there is, is power, Chris. Simple as that."

"And whoever has the most power wins, is that it?" Chris questioned, finding it hard to believe that the person standing opposite him spurting this nonsense was his brother.

"Exactly." Wyatt said in approval. Chris could only look at him in revulsion "You know if anyone else tried what you tried, I'd kill them on the spot."

"Yeah, same goes for you." Wyatt chuckled heartedly.

"Ah, good one Chris, thinking you can kill me. You always had a good sense of humour, I can give you that." Wyatt for the first time noticed that there weren't just the three of them in the attic "And what do you have there?" he asked looking at Melinda. Chris clenched his jaw "Who's she?"

"No one." Chris lied through his teeth. Wyatt didn't believe him. He walked closer to him, only for Chris to back away.

"What are you playing at, Chris?"

"Nothing. Just leave her out of this." Chris tried to make his voice as neutral as he could.

"I don't think that's going to work." Wyatt said closing his eyes. When he opened them again, a minute or so later, it was the first time in a long while that Chris saw doubt shinning in them "It can't be." He muttered.

Chris only wrapped his arms tighter around Melinda's body, who slowly started to stir. She groaned in pain, her hand coming up to her head, and feeling the bruised skin there.

"Bitch." She whispered under her breath. Friends or not, Bianca was going to pay for what she did.

"She can't be a Haliwell. She can't be." Wyatt said again.

"Chris?" Melinda looked up at him feeling confused as hell, her head still pounding "What's going on?"

"I'm so sorry Lin, this is all my fault..."

"Who are you?" Wyatt's voice boomed into her ears and Melinda grimaced in pain.

"Wow, Wy, lower the decibels."

"How did you call me?" Wyatt's voice was angry now.

Melinda slowly raised her eyes on him, but the man standing in front of her looked nothing like her brother. This one had long tangled hair, and was clad in dark clothes. This one had an angry voice, and had her fixed with a death glare. This one wasn't her Wyatt, he was Chris' Wyatt.

"Oh." She gasped as realization dawned in her "Chris let go off me." Chris hesitated "Chris, let go." She said again. Chris took a step back, not removing himself from her personal space. Melinda looked around her eyes momentarily falling on Bianca "You're gonna pay for that headache." She said, her hand still messaging her head.

"Speak, tell me who are you." Wyatt said authoritatively.

Melinda's eyes glimpsed at Chris who shook his head no. His anger running thin, Wyatt raised his hand fingers tensed and started closing his fist. Melinda heard a gasp, and she looked to her left again, only to find Chris holding his chest as he fought for air.

"You said you wouldn't hurt him!" Bianca yelled charging towards him, but Wyatt waved his other hand sending her against the wall. Bianca crashed on it loudly, before falling on the floor unconscious.

"Now, talk, or he'll die." Wyatt said pinning in her eyes.

"Oh yeah? I can play dirty too." Melinda said flickering her hands. Wyatt had no time to activate his shield; the blast sent him stumbling backwards. Chris took a long noisy breath, before doubling over, panting.

"Not bad." Wyatt recoiled quickly "I appreciate a good fight, but now I'm not in the mood for one."

"Oh yeah?" Melinda said with a cocky smile "Because I am." She flicked her hands again, destroying a self over Wyatt's head; the many vials and other ornaments rained over him momentarily distracting him, and Melinda had the time to check Chris "You okay?"

"I'll live."

"You don't seem to understand that pissing me off won't be good for you." Wyatt's voice was slightly raised now.

"Oh please Wyatt, Dad didn't manage to scare me and you don't hold a candle to him." Melinda said casually. She got ready to strike again, but this time Wyatt got there first. He sent her towards the wall, holding her there, as he walked closer.

"You said dad." He said inspecting her face carefully while he walked towards her "As in Leo?"

"The one and only." Melinda mustered the strength to be sarcastic, even though she could feel her wind pipes crushing.

"That pathetic scum bag couldn't even save his life, and you say that I don't hold a candle to him?" he questioned sounding offended.

"Oh, you've never met my Leo. You would've been in for a treat." Melinda said waggling her eyebrows.

"What is that supposed to mean?" Wyatt asked interested.

"Well, wouldn't you love to know?" Melinda baited him on, knowing that Wyatt's curiosity matched Phoebe's. The pressure on her became stronger, having her back crashing forcefully against the wall, and Melinda gasped trying to breath.

"Wyatt, don't!" Chris begged with him, unable to do anything but watch as his big brother tortured their little sister.

"She reminds me of you Chris, with all the sarcasm. She has mom's powers, and she looks like a clone of Aunt Prue. She tries to not show her fear, much like Aunt Paige, and she's good in manipulation just like Aunt Phoebe. She's powerful too. She's just a proper Haliwell, a proper little sister." Wyatt eased his hand a little, allowing Melinda to breathe "Problem is, we don't have a sister."

"Wyatt, please, I'll explain everything. Just don't hurt her." Chris begged.

"Crystals, circle." Wyatt called, and Melinda tried to orb, but Wyatt still had her pinned against the wall with his telekinesis. She tried to orb again, knowing that it would be futile, just to get buzzed as she hit against one of the walls of the cage. Her already pounding head couldn't take the blow and she landed on the floor of the attic in a heap

"Now that we're finally alone." Wyatt muttered turning around to look at Chris who was glaring at him "It's time for a family reunion. Don't you think, brother?"

* * *

**A/N: Did you like it? Did you hate it? Will you let me know? Please, please, please! Anyways...bye until next time! **


	20. Chapter 20

**Disclaimer: I don't own the series Charmed or any of the original characters. **

**A/N: ****This is a looooong chapter, and you probably remember the first scene from an earlier chapter. Remember the teaser chapter? It only had two scenes, and the first one is the second one from that chapter. Not much of Mel in this one, and I don't like it because it contains a fight scene, and I suck at fight scenes but...Anyway, without further ado, chapter 20!**

* * *

Melinda groaned once she came to. The whole room was spinning around, faster, and faster, and faster. She brought her hand to her head and refrained from moving; she didn't want to throw up. Finally, the faltering drumbeat inside her head faded to a dull roar, and she managed to manoeuvre her aching body into a sitting position. The hand she held on her forehead was sticky and she pulled it away to see that it was covered in blood. At least there didn't seem to be a fracture in her skull.

Her eyes slowly adjusted to the dim light and she looked about; trying to figure out exactly where she was. The ceiling was tilted, and the windows were tinted with colour. The floor was wooden and there was an old dirty rag covering half the space. She was still in the attic so that was good, right?

The crystals placed around her body told her another story. The stones were jet black, not white like the ones she replaced just that morning. She slowly extended her hand towards the invisible barriers of her crystal cage but immediately drew it back as a painful zap of electricity buzzed through her nervous system.

Orbing was quite obviously out of the question, but she stood up and tried anyway, unfortunately only receiving another buzzing for her efforts. Stubborn as Melinda was, she sat back down and started flickering her hands towards one of the crystals. Every time she did though she got buzzed.

Twenty minutes later she gave up. Her head was still hurting her and she wasn't sure whether the bleeding had stopped or not. Her body hurt, it felt like she was struck by a truck! Melinda closed her eyes and willed herself to fall asleep, maybe this was a bad, bad nightmare and when she woke up for real she'd be back home.

* * *

Chris was forced into a chair, leather loops quickly closing around his hands, as Wyatt walked around the large table looking at him. They'd left the Manor, but they weren't in Wyatt's usual lair; Chris was sure of that, he knew that place almost as well as he knew his house, and he'd never been in this particular dining room before.

"Change of scenery?" he questioned raising an eyebrow, half his mind occupied with forming a plan, and half worrying about Melinda and Bianca. Wyatt looked around the place, a fond smile on his face.

"Yeah, something like that. You like it?" he questioned intrigued, waiting for an answer.

Chris also looked at the room built with black marble. Dark velvety drapes covered the windows, and there was a heavy chandelier hanging above his head, matching perfectly with the dark brown mahogany table before him. He inspected the chair he was sitting on, with the red silk cushion, and the dark pine wood, marked with the 'family crest'; the triqueta, in several places. Chris had the urge to start laughing, feeling like he was in some sort of bad gothic flick.

"It's very you." He commented dryly. Wyatt offered him a smile, a real one, and Chris felt a pang of grief washing through him; he missed his brother terribly.

"Thank you, I also believe so."

"It wasn't meant as a compliment Wy."

"So how are Mom and the aunts?" Wyatt questioned taking a sit next to him. Chris pulled at his restrains, but they just got tighter, hurting his wrists.

"Like you care." He said vehemently. Wyatt looked at him affronted.

"Oh, no, no Chris. I care; I've always cared. I loved our family, and I cherished our mother just as much as you did."

"Oh yeah? Is that why you killed Aunt Phoebe?" Chris asked, and if looks could kill Wyatt would've surely been dead by the look he received.

"**I **didn't kill Aunt Phoebe; she did it on her own."

"You bastard-" but Chris didn't manage to finish off his sentence as the air was sucked out of his lungs.

"Uh-huh, Christopher. You know I don't tolerate cussing." Wyatt chastised him. His eyes were turning blood shot by the time Wyatt decided to let him breathe again. Chris' head fell forward, as he panted for breath, his chest moving erratically "Now, as I was saying; Aunt Phoebe killed herself, it wasn't my fault."

"She was trying to save her daughter you sick s-" Chris cut himself off before the word left his mouth, and Wyatt smiled condescendingly.

"She wouldn't have to do that if her daughter wasn't a disgrace for our family." Wyatt started, and Chris could only look at him in disbelief "C'mon Chris, she couldn't even get rid of a low level demon, she didn't deserve to be called a Haliwell!"

"Prim was only eleven!" Chris yelled in indignation "She was just a kid!"

"I was two years old when I killed my first demon, maybe a bit younger I don't remember that well. And you were...five? Six?" Wyatt shook his hand "The point is we were kids too, but we were worthy of our legacy-"

"Prim had only passive powers, and you know it." Chris cut him off, feeling the blood boil inside his veins "She still hadn't mastered beaming in demand and you threw her in a demon fight knowing perfectly well she couldn't defend herself." Chris' eyes were blazing with fury "And if that wasn't enough you forced Aunt Phoebe to watch. What kind of a sick psycho does that to his own family?" Chris' last words were spoken in a thin broken voice.

"She still had her powers. She could cast a spell. I remember you breaking out of one my cells while your powers were bound; now that, that's true Haliwell spirit. Prim could only cry, and beg for her life. Pathetic." Wyatt said with a visible shudder.

"You know, I'm starting to believe I was wrong." Chris' voice was hoarse "The Resistance never intended to send me back to the past to stop you; they all tried to make me believe that you didn't deserve it. They wanted me to kill you, or at least try. They knew that if anyone could, that would be me."

"They were wrong Chris, I'm glad you weren't foolish enough to go through with their stupid plan."

"I see now what they meant; the only reason I didn't go through with it was because I loved my brother, but the man sitting next to me is not him. You're not him, and I hate you for tainting his memory."

"If I didn't say that your words hurt I would be lying." Wyatt spoke, his eyes showing that he was in fact hurt "But I'm still me, little brother, and I vowed to protect you all those years ago-"

"Shut up."

"-when Mom was murdered, and Leo was nowhere to be found-"

"I said shut up!"

"-I tried to heal her but I couldn't, and you were crying, and I promised then – I took your hands and knelt in front of you- and I promised that I wouldn't let anything or anyone to hurt you –"

"Shut up Wyatt, just shut up!" Chris bellowed.

He had heard that story more times than he could count. It was one of the reasons why he held himself responsible for what Wyatt did; when he first found out of his brother's evil activities while still a teenager, Chris was shocked. In all his life he'd been taught that there were two sides; the good one and the evil one, and according to his mother he and his brother were the good guys. So Chris couldn't understand why his big brother, who he always idolised, was making deals with demons, agreeing to kill good witches for them.

"_I'm doing it for you Chris. I'm never going to let anything hurt you. I'll keep you safe buddy."_

They were still kids, and Wyatt's personality was more dominant; Chris was used to giving into him. And that's what he did; he gave in, going down a path that would later make him hate himself, although no one else held him accountable for it; Chris was always very hard on himself. He was taken by Wyatt's worlds that there was no good and evil, that there was only power. Wyatt was all he had left, he was the one protecting him, keeping him safe from the demons and his nightmares. And the last thing Chris wanted was to be left alone.

So he kept Wyatt's secret for a long while, refusing to tell anyone about his brother working with demons. Partly because he was afraid of what their Aunts would do to his brother, partly because he was afraid of what they'd do to him. After all wasn't he just as responsible as Wyatt was? He knew what Wyatt was doing, and he was keeping it to himself because of his selfish reasons, so Chris found it logical that if Wyatt had to be punished, then so did he.

Chris was good at convincing himself of things even when they happened to be false. So he was able to convince himself that Wyatt was good; he was just _using_ the demons to do his bidding. And Wyatt helped him to sustain that illusion for at least six months sometimes with cunning speeches, and sometimes by taking him down to the Underworld, when a deal went wrong and he went there to kill the demon. _Surely an evil being would never kill demons, right? _Was Wyatt's reasoning, and Chris was all but glad to accept it.

It took him quite some time, and a lot of innocent blood to realise that what his brother was doing was wrong. And even when he realised it he wasn't ready to lose Wyatt; so he stood by his side, until he was too disturbed and horrified by his actions. That's when he turned his back to him, that's when he decided to form the Resistance with Phoebe and Paige's help, and that's when the war unofficially started.

Four long years, full of nightmares, darkness, and death. Full of running. Chris had been caught more than once, and he was imprisoned at least a dozen times. One time in particular, a demon was a bit too vicious; the slimy creature named Nomed, maliciously chuckled while carving the word 'worthless' on his back. Chris hadn't made a sound, biting hard on his tongue to sustain the pain. When Wyatt had visited him that night –Wyatt always visited whenever he got imprisoned- and tried to lure him to his side once again, he noticed that Chris was in pain. Chris was reluctant to show him his wound, but he didn't have much of a choice. Wyatt went ballistic. He heard from the other guards that he had been torturing Nomed for two weeks straight, before sending him to Wasteland.

"We don't have a sister." Wyatt's words broke through his thoughts, and Chris tilted his head on the side to look at him.

"And the sky is not red." Chris said making his brother frown "Sorry, I just thought we were pointing things out we both knew as facts."

"Don't play smart Chris."

"I'm not playing anything." Chris shrugged.

"Who is she? Because I know she's a Haliwell, and I know I've never seen her before in my life."

"I don't know what you're talking about."

"Don't do this, Christopher. You know I'm only asking because I'm trying to be polite. I have other ways to find out." Chris remained silent "Okay. If that's the game you want to play, fine. Let's have it your way." Wyatt said snapping his fingers.

A huge demon appeared out of nowhere, a thin layer of smoke puffing around him. He looked like a cross between a Yeti and Big Foot, making Wyatt grimace in disgust, but address him with friendly words nonetheless.

"My dear friend." Wyatt started with a warm smile that didn't reach his eyes. It never reached his eyes, not anymore "I have a task for you."

"Yes Lord Wyatt?" the demon said dutifully, bowing his head.

"There's a girl in the attic at the Manor, she's trapped in a crystal cage. Do not harm her." Wyatt said quickly, stressing every word, as he saw the blood thirsty look shinning in the creature's eyes "I want you to identify whatever you can about her, and then search for her in the city." Wyatt orders were very clear, but the demon still looked at him confused.

"But Lord Wyatt if the girl is in your attic-"

"There are two versions of her you moron!" Wyatt snapped. Chris sucked in a breath; how had he figured that one out? Wyatt shook his head, raising both hands in surrender "I'm sorry, I'm sorry my friend for losing my patience. I didn't mean for that to happen."

"It's okay my Lord."

"Okay so now that everything is settled and clear, you may go."

Wyatt waited until the demon was out of his sight, to turn and look at his brother, a smug smile drawn on his face. He rounded the table with slow, deliberate steps, and reached the chair to Chris' right. He sat himself down on it, and pinned in his brother's eyes.

"You can't keep things from me Chris." Wyatt said with a scolding tone "And you shouldn't really."

"He isn't going to find anything." Chris shrugged "She's just an innocent from the past. I tried to tell Bianca about it but-"

"Now, now, Chris, you must think I'm really stupid if you expect me to believe that." Wyatt was acting like a disappointed parent, but it was clear from the look in his eyes that he was deeply enjoying the conversation "You wouldn't come back for her if she was merely an innocent; because I know you came back for her. You wouldn't risk your life for a stranger."

"I would, and once upon a time you would've done the same too." Chris said trying to suffocate the sad undertone that tainted his words.

"Oh, I was young and naive." Wyatt shook his hand dismissively "You shouldn't hold that against me."

"It doesn't matter what you think. Your lap-dog won't find a thing. She's just a girl from the past." Chris said with another shrug. He'd managed to fool the Charmed Ones for almost a whole year; misleading Wyatt shouldn't be that hard.

"Well, we shall see about that."

Chris hoped against hope that he was right. If Melinda did exist in this time line, then her powers were certainly bound. That would explain why Wyatt couldn't sense her, because Chris knew that his brother had tried to sense her just as soon as he realised who Melinda was. So if the twice-blessed son of a Charmed One and a Whitelighter couldn't find her, what chance did a mare demon stand?

"Yeah, we'll see."

"In the mean while, I would've brought forth my other guests, but they are elsewhere occupied at the moment." Wyatt said giving him a small grimace "So my dear brother, we're left with each other's company, until my friend is back."

"Guests? What guests?" Chris asked, a feeling of foreboding washing over him. Wyatt smiled, one of those smiles that showed just how pleased he was with himself, and the feeling intensified.

"Oh you know; just some family members. Pandora, Henry, and Penny." Chris instantly tagged at his bindings, setting his jaw.

"If you hurt them I swear-" Wyatt's laughter cut him off.

"Relax little brother." He said with a tone meant to obviously be reassuring, but Chris felt the hair at the nape of his neck standing up "The cousins are okay. Penny even came to me on her own."

"You're lying." Chris said immediately. Wyatt's eyebrows reached his hairline.

"Why would I lie about something like that? Penelope realised the errors in her way, she asked for forgiveness, and I was all but willing to give it to her. I'm not the monster you want to make me out to be, Christopher."

"Penny would've never come to you willingly! Not after what you did to Prim and her mom."

"Oh, but that's where you are wrong; Penny came here on her own. She's the cleverest of Aunt Phoebe's daughters, I shall give her that. Plus her premonitions can rival those of her Mother's, powerful magic runs in that one. And well, her sarcasm reminds me of you. You could say I have a soft spot for her."

"Pen would never come to you. She'd never-"

"Never what? Never choose to live, be able to use her magic? Never choose a life where she doesn't have to run, and be afraid all the time? Are you sure about that, Chris?" Wyatt asked pinning in his eyes.

Chris was about to say 'yes', but the look in his brother's eyes stopped him. Penny reminded him of Phoebe in many ways. While his Mother was still alive she used to call her 'Phoebe's mini-me' and she wasn't wrong; the physical resemblance between mother and daughter was uncanny, same dark brown, almond shaped eyes, same skin complexion and cheek bones, same height, and even same taste in clothing. Penny had also all of her mother's powers, being the only Haliwell child with the gift of premonitions. Her appearance and magical powers weren't where the similarities between her and Phoebe ended though.

Penelope was everything Grams would wish upon Phoebe to punish her for everything she'd ever put her through. She was a true rebel, showing so from the crib when during a fight Phoebe and Coop had, Penny had beamed herself over at her Grandfather's house, annoyed by their loud voices, scaring both her parents to death. When still in elementary, she'd set on fire a desk because her teacher graded her essay 'unfairly' according to her and gave her a 'B' instead of an 'A'. It was around the time that Phoebe had a serious talk with her about her magic, warning her that if she ever did anything like that again, she'd force her mother's hand into binding her powers. And Penny behaved; she never used her powers in front of the mortals again, but she was very annoyed about it, a fact she didn't miss to make vocal in every chance she got.

Of course that didn't stop her from getting into all sort of troubles, with the high light of ending into the precinct after a concert for driving without a licence. Her uncle Henry immediately called her parents, but told them that it would be better to let her spent the night in prison, to see where this kind of behaviour would lead. Of course that didn't deter Penny in the slightest, like it hadn't made Phoebe bat an eyelash when she had to spend the night in prison at the age of fifteen. The last huge fight Penny had with her mother was when Phoebe found a packet of cigarettes in her closet; Penny had accused her of going through her staff, as Phoebe went on and on about how harmful smoking was for her health. Paige teasingly had called the fight the third world war, making Chris chuckle. If only they knew what was lying ahead of them.

Phoebe's hatred for rules had pass on to Penny, along with her want to use her powers whenever she pleased. So no, after all Chris couldn't say with certainty that Penny would never join Wyatt's forces, and of course he couldn't blame her for doing so. After everything she'd went through, it was normal to seek out the safety she knew Wyatt could provide her. At least to him it sounded normal. There were many a times Chris himself had considered of giving up.

"What about Pan and Henry?" he asked instead, hating the amused little smile on Wyatt's face.

"Well, they weren't as pleased to be here as Penny. Their capture though was a great success, and soon they'll see that I'm right about everything."

"Capture? You have them imprisoned? Wyatt they're still children!" Chris yelled, feeling his anger coming back full force.

"Henry is fifteen, and Pandora will soon be nineteen, they hardly count as kids anymore. You should really stop using that excuse in their defence; it's getting old." Wyatt said eyeing him carefully "And to answer your question, or better say accusation; no, they are not imprisoned. I learnt my lesson the last time." Wyatt's face turned grim, as he looked at Chris regretfully. The youngest Haliwell could tell that Wyatt's mind was on Nomed "But they're in guarded rooms, until they're ready to accept that I'm right."

"They'll never do that. Not Henry, not after what you did to his father." Chris said vehemently. Wyatt seemed surprised for a second, before he quickly wiped the emotion off his face.

"You really hate me that much, don't you?" he questioned, making Chris' gaze flicker to the floor "Not even Aunt Paige blames me for the mortal's death, but you do."

"Aunt Paige wasn't there." Chris kept his gaze focused on his shoes "She didn't see you killing him-"

"I didn't kill Henry, Chris, how many times do I have to say it, to make you believe me?" a small scoff escaped Chris' lips.

"You're trying to make me seem like the crazy one, don't you?" he looked at his brother under his eyelashes "I saw you killing him!" he yelled, and Wyatt flinched by the pain freely showing in Chris' voice "I saw the energy ball in your hand, I saw you looking at him with your usual 'holier-than-thou' look, and then I saw Henry falling to his death! So, I don't care how many times you say it, I won't believe you."

"You blame me for Henry's death, and I blame Henry's death for your betrayal." Wyatt spoke softly, and Chris retrieved his gaze once again "It's a vicious cycle."

"I would've left either way."

"You never thought I was evil before that day, and afterwards...I tried to make you see that I'm not, that I don't care about good or evil, but you were set on me being this monster-" Wyatt cut himself off shaking his head "If it weren't for Henry's death-"

"It would've taken me a bit longer, but I'd still leave. I already knew about the dead witches, and the deals with the demons. I just didn't want to believe what was staring me right in the face." Chris didn't let him finish his sentence. He let a mirthless chuckle, and pinned his eyes in his brother's "You've murdered people in cold blood, and then showed it on tv to let us know who was in charge, Wyatt. Hundreds of people! Most of them mortals who couldn't defend themselves. Anyone who dared to go up against you got slaughtered! Jesus you had demons patrolling the city!" Chris cried out, his hands shaking. He shut his eyes, taking a calming breath, and he forced himself to calm down "You're only fooling yourself with your stupid 'I'm not evil' mantra." He said, eyes still closed. Wyatt remained silent for a long moment, but then;

"_Truth hidden in my mind,_

_The question answer in my brother's head_

_What happened show to him,_

_So that Chris can be convinced."_

Chris found himself in the middle of the living room in the Manor. He was still sitting on that chair, and Wyatt was standing by his side, one of his hands gripping tightly on the armrest of the chair. Chris looked at the transparent room around him, full of people. Everything seemed solid, but not solid enough to be real.

"What..?" He trailed off unable to finish his sentence.

"As you said; you'll never believe me." Wyatt's voice was low as he took in the faces of his family "But you might believe your own eyes."

"Wyatt, what are you trying-"

"Shh, it's gonna start soon."

_The living room was swimming with people, as two generations of Haliwells sat on every available surface. The reason of the gathering wasn't exactly joyous, but it also was in their own weird way. It was the seventh day of August, and the family was celebrating the birthday of the eldest Charmed One. Only problem was, Piper Haliwell had been dead for three years. _

_The doorbell rung, and after looking at each other confused, everyone turned to the door, but no one got up to answer it. A seventeen year old Chris turned to his big brother who just shrugged his shoulders and returned to his conversation with their grandfather. _

"_And that Carmichael guy?" Phoebe questioned, making him blink._

_"Huh?" he questioned dumbly. His Aunt chuckled as she ran her fingers through Prim's light brown locks._

_"You were saying something about the science fair." She reminded him and Chris slowly nodded as he recalled their conversation "That there's some Carmichael character who's making your life-" Phoebe got interrupted again by the doorbell. Chris' head snapped around, his eyes narrowing at the door. He made a move to stand up, but Wyatt pushed him back down. Chris looked at him puzzled._

"_We are not expecting anyone." Wyatt justified his actions. The doorbell rung for a third time, and now Chris was determined to find out who was at the other side of the door. He tried to stand up again, only for Wyatt to tackle him back to the couch._

_"Wy, get off! And stop acting so weird, geez." Chris said pushing him off._

"I never understood how you couldn't feel who it was." Wyatt muttered shaking his head "I knew that you weren't never particularly close, but I thought you could still sense each other."

"He'd blocked me." Chris said the words still making his heart ache even after all those years "Ever since..." he trailed off, but Wyatt didn't need him to continue to understand what he meant.

_"No, Chris, stop!" Wyatt meanwhile had followed Chris in the forayer, along with Paige and Phoebe. Wyatt sidestepped his brother, standing between him and the door. "You are not to open this door Chris. Only over my dead body."_

_"Wyatt!" Paige scolded, seeing how Phoebe shivered. Wyatt threw her a regretful look, before refocusing on Chris._

_"I'm sorry I can't let you open the door." He said, hoping his brother would just back off._

_"I want to know who's outside." Chris said stubbornly trying to reach for the knob. Wyatt swatted his hand away, and then pushed him backwards, a little harder than needed. Chris foot slipped on the parquet, causing him to stumble and fall on his butt._

_"Wyatt." This time it was Phoebe who scolded him, as she extended her hand towards her younger nephew to help him on his feet. Chris ignored her, all the while glaring at Wyatt._

_"Why won't you just let me open the door!"_

_"Chris sweetie, it's better this way. C'mon, let's not fight." Paige soothed, crouching down next to him. Chris didn't look away from his brother._

_"I just want to know who-"_

"_Chris, do as your Aunts and brother say." Victor's voice cut him off._

_"But Grandpa I-"_

"_No, Chris." Victor's voice was firm yet gentle. Phoebe could never understand who her father could be both strict and soft at the same time "This is your Mother's day son, let's not fight." He requested. Chris heaved a sigh, his head falling forward._

_"Fine." He gave in, allowing Paige to drag him on his feet. She ruffled with his hair, and draped an arm around his shoulders, as they made their way back to the living room._

_Paige sat next to Henry, and Phoebe returned to her seat next to Coop. Prim quickly climbed on her mother's lap, and rested her back against Phoebe's chest, welcoming the familiar fingers that went through her hair. Paige watched as Pandora and Parker taught their little brother how to play orb and go seek, exchanging amused glances with Henry every now and then. Victor and Wyatt returned to their conversation about baseball, and Chris sat back down next to Phoebe, his eyes absentmindedly setting on Penny and Prue who were talking in hushed voices, sitting on the other side of the couch._

_Chris was about to answer his Aunt's question about Carmichael, when the sound of orbing made everyone turn to towards the far side of the room. Wyatt's eyes swept over to Chris' taking in his brother's expression as it turned from confused, to taken aback, to sad, to angry in a matter of seconds._

_"I-I know you don't like it when I orb in here, but I knocked a couple of times-" Wyatt opened his mouth, but the question came from one of his Aunts._

_"What are you doing here, Leo?" Phoebe demanded, fixing her ex-brother in law with a glare._

"It's Piper's birthday today and I-"

"_You were not invited." Paige said coolly. _

"_I know that but-"_

"_There are no buts." Paige's gaze was hard as she looked at him "You know where the door is."_

_"You can't kick me out of my house!" Leo said defensively._

_"Excuse you?" Paige stood up, crossing her arms over her chest. Every other conversation in the room had died as soon as Leo made his appearance, and now everyone was looking between the two, like they were watching a tennis match "Your house? This hasn't been your house ever since you've abandoned your sons."_

"_I have not abandoned Wyatt and Chris!" Leo said sternly. Paige scoffed under her breath._

_"Yeah, keep saying that to yourself."_

_"You can't keep me away from them you know. I know that you've been looking into adoption process-"_

_"Have you been spying on me?!" Paige demanded angrily. Leo didn't answer "So aside from being a neglectful father, you're also a peeping Tom?" she asked, a disgusted undertone in her voice, hooking an eyebrow._

_"You can't take my sons away from me!"_

_"Oh please, Leo, don't act like you care." Leo looked like he had been hit by something heavy. He hadn't expected the words Wyatt threw his way._

_"Wyatt I-"_

"_No, I'm tired of your excuses. I'm tired of making excuses for you, when you fail to keep up your promises. I'm tired of you making Chris feel worthless, I'm just tired!" Wyatt snapped, jumping up and stepping next to Paige. With an expression full of hurt and dejection, Leo turned towards his youngest son._

_"Chris-"_

"_Don't talk to him!" Wyatt yelled, and Paige had to grab his arm to hold him back._

_"He doesn't worth it." Paige whispered in his ear, stroking his arm._

"_I know." Wyatt murmured back. _

"I don't see why you brought me here." Chris said, clenching his hands in to fists. He remembered that day all too well, he certainly didn't need a reminder.

"Wait for it..."

"_As you can see Leo, you're not welcomed." Henry spoke up "So why don't you do us all a favour and leave?" _

_Leo looked at everyone inside the room, his eyes lingering on Wyatt for a long moment before turning to Chris. Chris held his father's gaze, his anger shinning in his bright green orbs, making the Elder look away first. The only times Leo had been on earth after Piper's funeral were Wyatt's birthday, when he tried to talk his eldest son into forgiving him, completely ignoring his youn__gest in the process. Wyatt though, who saw himself as Chris' personal bodyguard, refused to listen to him, each single time._

_"Chris, do you want me to go?" Leo asked, making both Paige and Wyatt scowl._

_"Now you care about what Chris wants?" Paige snapped._

_"Chris?" Leo prompted, ignoring his wife's baby sister and his other son._

"_I-I...I don't..." Chris had trouble putting words together to make a sentence, which was very unusual of him. _

_He always thought that the next time he saw his father he'd be able to look at him without feeling anything, but that wasn't the case. Chris couldn't take a look in the man's face without feeling a wave of sadness and anger crashing through him. The normal answer would be 'yes. Yes I never want to see you again', but the words wouldn't leave his mouth. _

_Before Chris had the chance to answer, three demons shimmered in behind Leo. Chris heard Penny screaming, and he span around to find another four demons shimmering in. Prim was hiding behind her mother's leg, and Parker and Pandora had taken a protective stance in front of their father._

_"Penny, get your sisters out of here. Coop, go with them." Phoebe said, prying Prim's arms off her leg._

_"Mommy, no!" the eight year old screamed, moving towards her mother again, but Penny grabbed a hold of her arm and beamed her away before she had a chance to latch on her again. Prue looked around her not willing to leave her whole family behind, but one stern look from her mother made her shoulders slum in defeat before she beamed away._

_"Coop go, now." Phoebe ordered. The demons after sharing a look left several loud yelps and started their attack. Coop avoided an energy ball that was hurled towards him, and with one last look at his wife he beamed out._

"_Pan, Parker take your father and go. Same goes for you Junior." Paige said dogging a flying athame; the sharp dagger cut the air where her head was supposed to be, and stuck itself on the wall behind her._

_"But mom we can help!" Parker insisted._

_"Parker Hope Haliwell, do as I say unless you wanna be grounded for the rest of the year!" Paige said threateningly, fixing her daughter with a look. Parker huffed in annoyance and orbed out. Paige turned her eyes on her son, who after holding his ground for a couple of seconds also orbed out. That left Pandora and Henry._

_"C'mon Dad, let's go." Pandora said extending her hand._

_"You go, I'm staying here."_

_"Like hell you are-"_

"_Paige!" Phoebe's exclamation was just in time. Paige turned around to see a fire ball coming towards her._

_"Fire ball!" Paige called, reflecting the attack and sending it straight to the demon's chest. The creature shrieked in pain before it was engulfed in fire, that soon turned into ashes. Paige smirked pleased with herself, but then she saw two more demons shimmering in. She hastily turned to her daughter and husband "Henry it's not safe here!"_

_"Forget it. I'm not leaving you alone."_

_"Dad, mom is right." Pandora said reluctant to leave her father behind. Henry cupped her face and gave her a smile._

_"Stop worrying, worrywart. I'll be alright." He said reassuringly. Pandora worried her lip, and turned her eyes to her mom. Paige didn't afford to lose any more time; the demons were multiplying as the seconds ticked by._

_"Fine. Pan, go home. Make sure the three of you stay there." She said and Pandora nodded before orbing out "You stay on that couch. You're not to draw attention to yourself under any circumstances, understood?"_

_"Yes ma'am."_

_Chris was fighting two demons at once, sending one of them crashing on the dining table, as the other charged screaming towards him. Chris pull to the side swiftly, and the demon hit on the wall. It took him a minute to recall himself, but a minute was all Chris needed to call for the athame that he then hurled towards the human looking demon._

_"Ha, fooled you." Wyatt said smugly, an energy ball forming in his outstretched hand. He'd project himself behind the demon, patting his shoulder and making him turn around. Before the creature had the chance to turn again, Wyatt had attacked. "Piece of cake." He said dusting his hands off. He caught Chris looking at him and winked, launching in battle again._

_"Dad, what are you still doing here?!" Phoebe demanded, while sending a female demon flying with a kick._

_"Well it's not like the way to the door is open, is it?" Victor said sarcastically, still sitting on the couch. And he was right; both Paige and Leo were blocking the way to the door, fighting three demons simultaneously._

_"Paige, take my Dad home." Phoebe yelled, dodging a punch. Piper's freezing power would be real helpful right now, she thought to herself. She crouched down, and kicked the demon's ankles forcing him on his back._

_"I'm not leaving you alone." Phoebe grabbed a dagger that was lying by her feet, and brought it down on the demon's chest._

_"Paige, please, it will only take you a second!"_

"_Forget it Pheebs." Paige ducked, and then jumped back up "Knife!" a silver shinning blade appeared in her hand, and she tossed it with all her might towards the demon she was trying to kill, but she missed "Damn it, I used to be better than this!" _

_"Someone has to take Grandpa home." Chris yelled over the commotion._

_"Good idea Chris, take him there and stay with him until the cost is clear, why don't you?" Wyatt suggested, throwing an energy ball on the demon Chris was fighting. It was futile though, the more demons they killed, the more appeared out of thin air, reminding Chris of the Hydra monster._

_"I'm not leaving you alone."_

_"I'm not alone Chris-"_

_"Forget it Wy." Chris said sternly looking at his brother. A fire ball that was thrown their way, had both boys jumping backwards to avoid it._

_"Paige, quit being stubborn and take him home already!" Phoebe snapped at her sister._

_Paige spared a moment to look at the couch which was surprisingly still untouched. Both Henry and Victor were there, but unlike Henry who was hiding, trying not to attract attention to himself just as she'd told him too, Victor made no attempt to conceal himself. On the contrary, it looked like he wanted to join the fight. __The youngest Charmed One groaned to herself. If Victor stayed there any longer he'd do something stupid to hurt himself, and she couldn't have that on her conscience. She marched to the couch, and grabbing his arm she orbed out, thinking how much easier everything would be if she was able to use remote orbing._

"Now, watch real closely." Wyatt said leaning forward, his head almost resting on Chris' shoulder.

C_hris pushed himself against the wall, taking a moment to breathe. The attack was still going strong, but he noticed that there were no new demons shimmering in. There were still around five of them in the living room, but no new entries. Chris shut his eyes momentarily, letting a relieved sigh. When he opened them again he looked for his brother, feeling his stomach slightly sinking when he couldn't find him. __An energy ball was thrown his way, but Chris easily deflected it, wondering why Paige was taking so long to come back. He spotted Wyatt standing by the television, finishing off a demon. Then his brother stilled himself for a second, before letting a heavy breath out. His head turned to the side, his eyes focusing on Leo who was battling hand on hand with a female demon._

Chris leaned forward on his seat, wanting to get a better look on his brother's face, as the fight raged on around him. The Wyatt in the memory seemed to be battling with himself, his eyes shifting between Leo and Chris.

"Have you figured it out yet?" Wyatt questioned, seeing himself create an energy ball in the memory. Chris' eyes got wide open when he saw Wyatt throwing the ball towards Leo.

_But Wyatt hadn't seen the fire ball that was flying towards him. The two spheres of energy collided, sending one of them towards Chris, and the other towards Henry. Chris who had partly seen what happened, dodged in time to avoid the energy ball, but Henry wasn't so fast. The fire ball hit him on the stomach, knocking him off the couch, and onto the floor as it ate away his shirt and skin._

Wyatt waved his hand and the scene around them dissolved into nothingness. They were once again in the dining room, the firm mahogany table reappearing before Chris.

"You were going to kill Leo." He said softly not looking at his brother. He had been wrong. His memory and eyesight had deceived him, and Chris had been accusing his brother of something he'd never done, for years.

Not that it changed anything; Wyatt was still a monster in his eyes. But Chris had been wrong, and he didn't like that. He didn't like they guilty feeling that was slowly spreading though him; the one murder Wyatt hadn't commit, and it was the one that Chris always rubbed in his face.

"He should've died instead of Mom. I never forgave him for not healing her-"

"I couldn't heal her either." Chris cut him off, and Wyatt looked at him taken aback; this was the first time in a long while that Chris defended Leo.

"You didn't have your healing power yet. Leo on the other hand ignored your calls and-"

"And I was stupid enough to not think of calling you earlier." Chris said his self hatred showing through his words. Wyatt sighed, and Chris could detect a hint of exasperation.

"Chris, I've told you a million times; Mom's death is not your fault." Chris just shook his head. Wyatt was about to deliver another one of his long speeches, Chris could feel it coming, but then his brother's posture changed suddenly. A smile made its way on his face, and Chris felt a hand on his arm. Without another word, Wyatt orbed them to the Manor.

* * *

**A/N: This wasn't good, right? Yeah I know...Anyway, let me know what you think in your reviews! Until next time; bye! **


	21. Chapter 21

**Disclaimer: I don't own the series Charmed or any of the original characters. **

**A/N: ****Fast update! Seriously, enjoy them now that you can because knowing myself in less than a week I'll be hit with a severe case of writer's block and I'll go another four months without updating! This is chapter 21! **

**P.S; Thank you SO much for your reviews. You guys have no idea how much it means to me that you enjoy this story. Your reviews make my day, seriously, and they keep me motivated. Anyway, enjoy!**

* * *

"There's gotta be a spell in here somewhere!" Paige exclaimed, a frustrated groan escaping her lips. She firmly shut the book, leaning on the hard cover with her elbows, her hands mingling in her hair. She felt Phoebe's hand on her back, stroking soothing circles between her shoulder blades.

"There are no spells for time travelling." Phoebe said in a gentle voice, looking at the book like it'd let her down "They're considered too dangerous." Another groan came from Paige.

"Well Bianca is a witch, she could do it, how could **she** do it and **we** can't?" Paige demanded angrily. What good was their precious power of three if they couldn't even save their family?

"We don't know." Leo responded his eyes glued on Piper, who hadn't uttered a word since they'd come back from Bianca's place.

His ex-wife was sitting on Aunt Pearle's couch, holding Chris' jacket tightly in her hands; they'd taken it off him when they put him on the couch. Every now and then Piper would bury her face in the clothe, taking deep breaths as a new set of tears made its way to her eyes. Chris' scent would fill her lungs, and it would be enough to calm her down for a little while.

"How did we do it five years ago?" Phoebe asked distracting Leo from his thoughts.

"What did you guys do five years ago?" Paige asked frowning.

"Oh nothing, we just time travelled to the past where I was still not even born yet." Phoebe waved her hand dismissively, not willing to remember of the first time she saw her mother. Because then she'd be reminded of when she first found out she was a witch, which would coincidently remind her of Prue, and she didn't afford to remember of her eldest sister. It was no time to get emotional; they needed to save Chris and Melinda.

"You did what?" Paige asked her eyes going round.

"Okay, sweetie, will talk about it later, yeah? Now we need to focus." Phoebe said sternly. Paige didn't want to let it go, but she had to; Chris and Melinda were their priority right now. Phoebe turned her attention back to Leo "Well? How did we do it?"

"The Elders made that happen, remember?" he asked, and Phoebe's face scrunched into concentration, before her mouth fell open creating a silent 'oh'.

"You're an Elder, make it happen." Paige said with a small shrug. Leo shook his head, and started pacing.

"That was a unique situation."

"And this isn't?" Paige demanded, her gaze turning cold. Leo gave her a reproachful smile.

"Look, I want nothing more than to save them-" he said stepping on a squeaky board.

"Then save them! Open the damn portal!" Paige's irritation was obvious in her voice. Leo shifted his weight from one foot to the other, making the board squeak again.

"I can't go around creating portals." Leo said, understanding perfectly well Paige's annoyance.

"Leo, we're talking about Chris and Melinda." Phoebe stepped in the conversation. Leo drew a deep breath, before addressing the middle Charmed One.

"I know. And if I could, I would open the portal this instant, but I can't."

"Then what good are you?" Piper's voice was muffled as she had her face hidden in Chris' jacket.

"Piper-"

"No!" Piper cut him off before he had a chance to start. Her head snapped up, and she looked at him with a ferocity that knocked the air out of his lungs "My kids have been abducted by a witch **we** couldn't stop, and you refuse to do anything to help! So I'm asking again Leo Wyatt, what damn good are you?"

"Piper it's not like I don't want to help!" Leo snapped, feeling his own anger building up. "I just can't."

"Why can't you?" Paige inquired, and Leo's eyes instantly rose to the ceiling.

"The Elders..." he murmured, trailing off.

"Screw the Elders!" Piper's voice made him jump a little. Piper shot up from the couch "I want my kids back, and I want them back now!"

"Piper I can't-" Leo was cut off midsentence, as Piper flicked her hands blowing him up. Phoebe let a startled gasp and Paige whistled under her breath, as Leo orbed himself back in one piece "Piper-" Piper flicked her hands, blowing him up again.

When she saw the orbs putting themselves back together, she marched towards him, stepping on the same squeaky board. Leo upon seeing her, took a step back.

"If anything happens to them, I'll never forgive you."

"I want to help them too." Leo said stepping forward, when he was certain she wouldn't attack him again. The floor objected under his feet, and Paige frowned.

"Leo." She said her eyes flickering between the piece of wood and the Elder "Fix the floorboard." Paige murmured to herself.

"What?" he asked confused, turning to look at her.

"Maybe he was trying to tell us something." Phoebe who had caught up on what Paige was thinking said, making the redhead witch nod her head.

"Who? What?" Leo asked still puzzled. Piper's eyes widened as her gaze fell on the floor.

"Maybe that's where Bianca was taking him..." She trailed off.

"To the attic in the future." Paige finished with a small waggle of her eyebrows.

"Would that still be there though, in the future?" Phoebe asked warily.

"It should be, unless we fixed it." Paige said rounding the podium, and walking closer to her sister.

"So we can use it to send him his powers back, correct?" Piper asked eyeing her ex-husband. Leo drew in a deep breath.

"Ugh, yeah, that should work." He said rolling back and forth on the balls of his feet.

"Okay, great, we just need the power spell-"

"I'm on it!" Phoebe spoke over Piper's words.

"Leo, move! We need to take this out." Piper urged. Leo stared at her for a second before springing into action.

"Found it!" Phoebe said enthusiastically. She looked up, and then around the room, searching for a pad and a pen. She let a frustrated groan when she realised that she had to go down to the kitchen where her notepad was lying on the island.

"Looking for this?" Paige questioned with a small smirk, presenting her a clean sheet of paper and a ballpoint.

"What would I do without you?" Phoebe questioned as she hurriedly started writing the spell down.

"Oh, probably wallow in a pool of your own despair." Paige said teasingly.

Phoebe's hand was practically flying over the page. Chris and Melinda were already gone for almost an hour, and the more time Melinda spent in the future, the less were the chances she'd come back intact. Phoebe hadn't missed the fact that Bianca didn't seem to know her future niece. And Chris had told them many a times that his future wasn't filled with flowers and rainbows, quite the contrary. So while she was worried for her nephew, she knew that he at least had Bianca for back up. The witch's coldness wasn't enough to fool Phoebe's empath abilities; Phoebe knew with a certainty that Bianca would do anything to keep Chris safe. Melinda though, to Bianca was a stranger, a stranger she wouldn't risk her life for. And so even though Melinda had her powers, Phoebe was worried; the girl had no allies aside from Chris, who for the moment was powerless.

"Done." She said running her fingers slowly over the words.

"Good, give it here." Paige took the spell, and handed it to Piper who folded it neatly, and then stuck it between the floorboards. She looked at Leo, who was already staring at her, and gave him a nod. Leo covered the opening on the floor, and they all let a collective sigh, releasing a breath they didn't know they were holding.

"I can't just sit around and wait!" Piper's outburst startled everyone after a couple of silent seconds.

"Honey, it's not like we can do anything else." Phoebe said moving closer to her sister. Piper allowed her to pull her in a hug, one that Paige soon joined in.

"I know I'm just...I'm so worried about them." Piper chocked out, clenching on to her sister, her eyes burning with tears once again.

"We know." Paige's voice was barely above a whisper, her long fingers running through Piper's hair "We know sweetie, we all are."

* * *

Reappearing in the attic Chris came to a conclusion; he didn't like orbing without his powers. It was too weird; he felt like he was thrown out of his own body, into a raging storm that was trying to tear him apart. It unsettled him, and for the first time he understood why mortals weren't so fond of orbing.

"What is going on here?" Wyatt asked, attracting Chris' attention. He followed his brother's gaze, and an angry growl scrapped his throat before leaving his lips.

"Leave her alone!" He yelled, starting towards the demon, but Wyatt grabbed his arm holding him back. Chris tried to free himself in vain.

"What is the meaning of this?" Wyatt asked again, his grip on Chris getting tighter as the youngest witch tried harder to shake him off.

"My Lord." The demon said bowing his head. Wyatt gave him a node and the demon stood on his full height again "When I got here she was trying to free the girl from the cage."

"Is that right?" Wyatt muttered to himself "Let her down." The demon hesitated "I said let her down." He repeated his words, raising his hand a little. The demon quickly lowered Bianca on the floor, his huge palm still around her neck "You may go; I won't be needing your assistance anymore." Wyatt said arrogantly.

"My Lord, maybe I should stay. You shouldn't be alone-"

"Go." Was all that Wyatt said, his eyes darkening. With another bow, the demon blinked away "Maybe my expectations were too high after all." Wyatt said, eyeing Bianca "Maybe I should kill you."

"No, Wyatt-"

"Be quiet Chris! How can I trust you, when you bite my hand every time I look away?"

"Oh please, did you steal that from a gangster movie or something?" Melinda couldn't stop herself.

"I see you haven't lost your wit." Wyatt addressed her, never taking his eyes off Bianca, who was cornered against the wall.

"I'm not so easy to break, thank you very much." Melinda said indignantly. Wyatt smiled amused.

"And what about you? Are you as witty, as she is?" Wyatt asked looking for the first time at the girl who was sitting on Aunt Pearl's couch.

She was a spitting image of Melinda, only her hair was cut on the height of her shoulders, and they were wavy unlike Melinda's silky straight locks. There was also a pair of glasses perched on the bridge of her nose, making her eyes look darker than her counterparts. Her hands were bound behind her back, and her clothes were torn in several places. Her back was straight, and her head held high; if she was afraid she was concealing it very well.

"Why am I here?" she asked, her voice quivering ever so slightly. Chris was amazed of how much the girl reminded him of their mother just with the simple gesture of raising her chin higher, while talking to her captor.

"Uh-huh, I'm making the questions here." Wyatt said sparing her a glance "What's your name?"

"What is it to you?" She shot back. Wyatt took his eyes off Bianca and turned to look at her.

"Mere curiosity." He said with a small shrug. The girl set her jaw, glaring at him "Look, we can do this the easy way, or..." Wyatt trailed off, raising his hand. Flames started playing at his fingertips, making the girl's eyes widen.

"Prue, my name is Prue." She said quickly. Wyatt smiled; at least one of them had the sense to not cross him.

"I'm Wyatt Ha-"

"I know who you are." Prue cut him off, giving him a look that Chris had seen his mother give to demons many times, while she was still alive. It didn't faze Wyatt.

"My reputation precedes me." He said, sounding all too pleased with himself. "Tell me, Prue, do you happen to be adopted?" he asked, his head tilted to the side "Bianca, I wouldn't do that if I were you." He called, making Bianca freeze as she reached for the dagger that was strapped on her thigh "So, Prue, adopted?"

"H-how did you know?"

"That's a yes." Wyatt confirmed to himself "Do you happen to know the last name of your real family?"

"You mean my biological one?" Prue deadpanned. Her real family were the people who brought her up, her mom and dad who she'd lost two years ago in a car crash. Wyatt gave her a nod "No, I don't. I only know that when my biological mother gave me up she had already picked out my name; Prudence Melinda, and my parents liked it enough to not change it."

"Prudence Melinda." The name rolled easily off his tongue, as his eyes slid to the cage "Of course."

"Woo, bravo, you now know my name. Congrats." Melinda's voice was dripping with sarcasm. She clapped her hands once before crossing them over her chest.

"Y-your name?" Prue asked, turning around to look at the girl she initially thought was her twin sister; Melinda though was quick to shoot that idea down, claiming to be from another time line, making Prue's head hurt. Prue knew about magic of course, it was impossible to live in the world she was living and not know that witches and demons existed, but other time lines? Parallel universes? All that sounded like crazy talk to her.

"I told you already; we are kind of the same person, from different time lines. Seez, it's not so hard to grasp." Melinda said rolling her eyes. Prue for the first time opened up herself to the possibility that the other girl was being honest.

"But you are..you're a-a witch." She stumbled a bit on her words, remembering the many times Melinda had tried to blow up one of the crystals, while the demon that had captured her fought with the other witch.

"Yes, and so are you." Wyatt said calmly.

"What?" Prue asked doubtfully. Wouldn't she know if she were a witch?

"You come from a great line of witches; a line that started with Melinda Warren, whose name was given to you. A line that mothered the Charmed Ones; the greatest witches of all time."

"No, no, you're wrong. You're wrong, because-because I've read about you, and you're one of their descendants, and-and that would make me...It would make me..." Prue trailed off unable to finish her sentence. Her eyes darted to the shield off windows, and then to the door behind Chris, like she was trying to find a way out of this situation that she didn't like one bit.

"It would make you either my sister, or my cousin. And since we've established that her father is Leo." Wyatt said pointing towards Melinda "And you two are the same person, then I'd say you're my sister." Prue started shaking her head.

"No, no, no..I don't know who she's, but I'm not! I'm not your-I can't be your sister. I-I'm just...I'm just Prue. I'm human!"

"On the contrary, my dear, you're a witch. A powerful one." Wyatt said smoothly. He swiftly turned around and pinned in Chris' eyes "And now, now it's the hard part Chris; you've got to decide." He said entwining his fingers.

"What are you talking about?"

"Well, isn't it obvious?" Wyatt asked raising an eyebrow "We can't have the both of them here, in this time, with powers. So you've got to decide; which one will live and which one will die." Chris shook his head.

"No!"

"No? So shall I kill both of them?" Wyatt asked, the energy ball already building in his hand.

"I'd like to see you trying!" Melinda yelled at him, making him chuckle.

"You could send Melinda back." Bianca said.

"And risk her coming back here again, to save Chris? Or leave her in the past where she can mess up with history? I don't think so."

"You could just let me go. I don't have any powers, I don't care about magic." Prue said hopefully.

"That can't happen either; you see now you know, and you might find a way to get your powers, and I can't risk that. If you have your powers, I need you by my side, dear sister."

"Don't call me that."

"But you are my sister."

"No, I had a brother, and he died during one of your attacks, so don't you dare call me that!" Prue snapped.

"Soon you'll see that everything that happened happened for a reason. So, Chris, you still have to make a decision."

"Go to hell!"

"That is not the way to speak to your brother, Christopher." Wyatt said, and with a wave of his hand, Chris slammed against the wall "Now, I'm gonna ask again; which sister do you want to save?"

Melinda was practically shaking with anger. She'd never thought that Wyatt would make her feel like that. She had half the mind to try to blow her way out of that cage again, but she didn't know how much more buzzing her body could take. Her eyes moved over to Bianca who seemed to be paralyzed as she looked at Wyatt who was talking to Chris, crushing his body against the wall.

"Can you save us?" Melinda didn't even hear the whisper at first; she was too focused on Chris. She blinked a couple of times, and then noticed how close Prue was standing to cage.

"I can try." she wasn't going to lie to herself. Prue bit on her lip, her eyes flickering between Melinda and Wyatt "Look, whatever you do, do it fast. Wyatt won't appreciate you talking to his hostage."

Prue drew in a shaky breath. She'd found them; she'd found the family that her mother always told her to look for. She had two brothers; one terrorised the whole world, and the other one was trying in vain to stand up against him, and she was a witch. That was a lot of information to take in, in less than thirty minutes.

She could feel the other girl's eyes boring on the side of her head, and she knew she was right; Wyatt wouldn't like it if he caught Prue talking to the prisoner. Prisoner...He had imprisoned his own sister, or better say another version of her. Prue couldn't understand why the thought repulsed her; Wyatt wanted Chris to choose which one should die, for Christ's sake! Imprisonment was a good fate against that.

Without thinking too much of it – over thinking could only hurt, as her father used to say- Prue kicked one of the black crystals, breaking the link. Melinda who hadn't seen that coming, blinked at her confused for a moment.

"Do something!" Prue urged, knowing that Wyatt wouldn't take long to realise that something was amiss. Melinda nodded, still stunned into silence, and turning her attention to Wyatt she flicked her wrists.

Chris fell on the floor with a bang, his back hurting like he'd been run over by a car. He heard Wyatt's pained groan, and looked up to see his brother also on the floor, his face a mixed mask of emotions.

"Chris!" Bianca rushed next to him, falling on her knees. Her hands came quickly on his chest, pushing him back against the wall "Chris, I didn't..I never meant to..." Bianca was too distraught to put her thoughts into actual words.

"I know." Chris said reassuringly. He heard Wyatt groaning again, this time in anger, before his big brother got up on his feet.

"That was a bad move Prue, a really bad move." He said threateningly.

"For the big bad wolf of this time line, you certainly like to talk much more than causing havoc, eh?" Melinda said flicking her wrists again. Wyatt's shield rose up, deflecting the attack. Melinda grabbed Prue's hand and orbed out just in time to miss the energy wave heading towards them.

"What was that?" Prue asked, leaning with her shoulder against the bookcase to steady herself.

"Part of being an angel." Melinda said sarcastically.

"You know you would've been a valuable asset." Wyatt said, slowly walking towards them. He stopped in the middle of the room, one of his feet resting on a squeaky floorboard, the other on the scorched carpet "Too bad you picked the wrong side."

"Chris." Bianca held him in place when he made a move to stand up "What are you doing?"

"Taking a chance on my family." He said cryptically. Bianca pinned in his eyes, searching for a better explanation. Chris gave her a small smile, before jumping up, and running towards Wyatt.

He collided on his brother, sending both of them on the floor. Prue jumped back scared, her left hand coming over her heart. Melinda confused look at Bianca, who could only mirror her gaze. Wyatt shook his head as pain spread through it, and tried to topple Chris off him, without any success. Chris raised his fist, and then closing his eyes he brought it down on Wyatt's face.

"Chris, this is really not the time to get out your pent up anger!" Melinda yelled.

"Just call for the book, and then find the spell." Chris said back.

Melinda moved over to the podium, where the hologram of the Book of Shadows was perched on. She tried to recall the spell, but she could only remember the first two verses. She ran a hand through her hair and then she heard Chris crying out in pain. She looked up to see that Wyatt had managed to get on top. Instead of punching him though, Wyatt's hands were closing around Chris' throat, cutting off his air.

"Bianca, help him!" Melinda ordered taking Bianca out of her stupor "C'mon, c'mon, Mel you know that spell." She said to herself "Okay, um...I call upon the Ancient Power, to help us in this darkest hour-"

A scream of pain cut her off. Melinda raised her head, and saw Wyatt crashing Bianca against the ceiling. He brought his hand down with force, and Bianca hit against the floor with a sickening sound. Prue hid her face against her shoulder, as Wyatt moved his hand to the left, causing Bianca's body to collide on the wall like a rugged doll.

Chris tried to make as little noise as he could, crawling towards the squeaky floorboard. Wyatt thought that he had passed out, and so he'd turned his wrath against Bianca. The only chance Chris had to save her was by taking his powers back, so he needed to get to that floorboard without Wyatt taking notice.

"You're going to kill her." Prue's muffled voice reached Wyatt's ears, as he held his hand steady, pinning Bianca against the wall opposite him.

"That's the plan." He said maliciously.

Chris bit on his lip hard, ignoring the pain in his hand. He took off the floorboard, the weight of it causing his wrist to burn with pain, and he stuck his hand inside. His fingers brushed over the paper, and he quickly snack it out, unfolding it, and reading loudly the smudged words.

"Powers of the witches rise,

Come to me from across the skies,

Return the magic, give me back

All that was taken from the attack."

Chris rolled around on the floor, and waving his hand he rammed Wyatt against the bookcase, making Prue jump away with a frightened yelp. Wyatt knocked on it forcefully, destroying the furniture, causing the books to rain down on him. Chris without missing a bit scrambled to his feet and rushed to Bianca's unmoving body.

"C'mon, c'mon, it's somewhere inside your head." Melinda pep talked herself. She shut her eyes and took a deep breath,

"I call upon the Ancient Power,  
To help us in this darkest hour...

Let the Book return to this place,  
Claim refuge to its rightful space."

Melinda cracked an eye open, just as the book fell heavily on the podium. Her eyes grew wide, and she let an excited yelp; she'd done it! With hands slightly trembling, and knowing that it wouldn't be long before she passed out, Melinda turned the hardcover and started flipping the pages.

"Bianca? Bianca." Chris called her name repeatedly as he shook her shoulder gently "C'mon no, you can't be dead. You promised me..." Chris chocked on his words as the tears blurred his sight. He lowered his head on her shoulder, biting hard on his lip to keep himself from breaking down.

"Shh, it's okay..."

"Bianca, you're alive." His relief though was short lived. It was painfully obvious in the paleness of her face that she wouldn't be alive for much longer. Her eyebrows were furrowed in attempt to not let him see in how much pain she was, a thin layer of sweat forming on her forehead. Her chest was slowly moving up and down, and her breathing was short and noisy "I'm so sorry-"

"No, no, this isn't your fault." She said pinning in his eyes, and it was like they were transported back in time, before Chris entered the portal that took him to the past. There was love in her gaze, love and adoration, mixed with a shadow of regret "We had-" Bianca paused to drew a shaky breath "Had a good time, eh?" she asked with a small smile, and Chris felt a couple of tears running down his face, as he nodded his head yes.

Melinda tuned another page, her eyes skimming through the spells. She was almost fifteen pages from the end when she stopped and backtracked. She tapped her finger on the page, and raising her eyes on the wall with the drawn triqueta she started chanting.

"Hear these words, hear the rhyme

Heed the hope within my mind..."

"Maybe we'll see each other again." Bianca said, her breathing even slower now, her eyes flattering close. Chris squeezed her hand in his.

"Yeah, maybe." She gave him a small smile, and tried to focus her gaze on him.

"Go, take the spell so he can't..." she coughed, her whole body convulsing "Can't sent anyone else."

"I will...I lo-"

"I know."

"...Send me back to where I'll find

What I wish in place and time."

"Chris!" Prue's yell made him jump. Bianca's hand fell from his, and Chris leaped to the side to avoid the energy ball Wyatt sent his way.

"You know that I'm a family kind of guy, Christopher, but believe me; I will enjoy killing her immensely." Wyatt said before firing another energy ball, this time towards Prue.

"No!" Chris cried out, and with a wave of his hand the sphere ended on one of the windows, breaking the glass and the frame. Prue whimpered in fear, her eyes darting towards the door again. This time the way was open, but she was too afraid to even make a step forward.

"Let's see how long we can keep this going." Wyatt said with a playful smile. The blond witch waved his hand, but Chris had seen it coming and moved out of the way.

"Melinda, get the spell and go!" Chris yelled.

"No way in hell I'm leaving you with this psycho." Melinda shot back. She tore off the page, stuffing it in the pocket of her jeans.

"How touching." Wyatt said with a mock tone of endearment in his voice. He sent another energy ball towards Chris, which the latest easily deflected. Wyatt's shield went up, absorbing the blow "You do realise that I can't let you go, don't you?"

"And you do realise that you don't have another choice, right?" Melinda questioned, approaching Prue. She lied her hand on the girl's arm, and gave her a gentle, reassuring squeeze.

"Oh?" Wyatt kinked an eyebrow "You think you two are powerful enough to defeat me?"

"Not defeat, but certainly to throw you off long enough to get through the portal." Melinda said with a shrug.

Melinda's one problem, since she was a small kid, was her arrogance; she'd inherited it from her Aunt Prue, shared it with her Aunt Paige, and it had kind of rubbed off on both Chris and Wyatt. Her mother always warned her it would be her downfall, and she wasn't that far off.

With a speed that Melinda hadn't seen coming, Wyatt using his telekinesis sent Chris flying back. Chris was caught off guard, but he managed to orb out before he collided on the door. The energy ball had left his hand in the same breath. Melinda had no time to react; she didn't even have time to orb out. All she could do was take one last breath and then...

She was pushed on to the floor. She landed on her knees, and groaned in pain; it was like a million tiny pricks were piercing through her skin. Still it was much better than being hit with an energy ball. Melinda rolled to her left, and getting back on her feet she flicked her hands. Wyatt raised his shield, but he was a bit late and it didn't absorb the attack, making him stumble backwards.

"Hey, thanks for that I-" Melinda turned to thank Prue.

Her stomach plummeted to her knees, when she saw Prue lying on the floor, her eyes open and glassy staring back at her. Her hand came quickly to her mouth, as to keep herself from throwing up, as the other wrapped itself around her middle, right where the blood was coming from on Prue's body.

"C'mon." Chris whispered in her ear, but Melinda remained still.

Prue had died to save her. This was...bizarre. This girl, the one lying dead by her feet, wasn't a stranger. It was her own self, another version of herself. Prue was her, and she was Prue. Seeing her body lying on the floor lifeless, it was...Melinda couldn't come up with words to explain what she was feeling.

"I'm sorry." She said looking up at Chris. She didn't know for what exactly; for Bianca's death? For Prue's death? For the fact that Chris had to grow up with a psycho for a brother? Suddenly the urge to be near her own brothers was so great that it nearly floored her.

"Let's go home." Melinda gave him a small nod, and wrapped both her arms around his.

But before Chris could take the step forward, he was thrown into the portal. He felt something crashing on to him, and he stumbled forward, Melinda still clenching on to him. He was surrounded by the warm light, and for the first time in the last five hours he could breathe freely. He walked into the attic, coming face to face with the worried faces of his family, and despite witnessing the love of his life, and his younger sister dying by his brother's hand, he felt like smiling.

And then he saw the blood.

* * *

**A/N: Oookay, so I know that there was no reason to go through all this trouble to get Chris his powers back, since Melinda had her own and she was perfectly capable of opening the portal, but I just couldn't resist. Did you like it? Hate it? Let me know! Oh and, fair warning; the next chapter will be...different. **


	22. Chapter 22

**Disclaimer: I don't own the series Charmed or any of the original characters. **

**A/N: ****This is my different chapter! I'm really excited about this chapter, and even though I'm not 100% satisfied with it, I hope you'll like it just as much as I do! After this we'll get back to normal for like 2-3 chapters (knowing myself, possibly more), then there will be a LOT of jumping between the time lines, and then the story will end... Anyway, that's a long way away, and I shouldn't get ahead of myself. For now, enjoy chapter 22!**

* * *

Wyatt's pacing up and down the basement doesn't help. His mumbling under his breath is also quite destructive, resulting to me shooting a couple of hundred disapproving glares his way, which he misses since his head is downcast. Leaning with my back against the wall, I shut my eyes and rub my temples with my index and middle finger.

"We should tell them."I finally say, causing my big brother to halt.

"Tell them what? We hardly know anything." Wyatt says, not looking at me.

"Tell them that Melinda is missing. It's been two days Wyatt, they'll be pissed that we didn't say anything, and if we keep it to ourselves, I see a lot of yelling in our future."

"I know. You're right." Wyatt shakes his head, and hides his face in his hands. I don't need my powers to understand how guilty he feels; I feel the same way. Melinda and Anwen wouldn't have gone after that Grimlock if it wasn't for our direct orders. "Okay we need a game plan; I'm gonna take Uncle Kyle-"

"Hey, not fair!" I cut him off "Uncle Kyle will be the calmest one to deal with, maybe along with Andy. We're going to split them up."

"Okay..." Wyatt trails off thoughtfully "Okay, I'm gonna take Aunt Prue, and Andy, and you-"

"You gonna leave both Uncle Cole and Aunt Paige to me?" I demand and Wyatt nods vigorously yes "Do you want them to kill me, or something?" Wyatt tilts his head on the side, giving me a patronizing look.

"They'd never hurt you Chris."

"Well they might, when I tell them their favourite niece is missing and we've been keeping it a secret for two days!"

"Your sarcasm doesn't leave you even in the most crucial situations, does it?" Wyatt asks scrunching his nose "Look, we need to do this fast." He says, his face sobering up "Leo might be back any day now, we don't have much time."

"It still doesn't make it fair that I get both Uncle Cole and Aunt Paige." I complain crossing my arms, and fixing him with a glare.

"I can't believe you're afraid of your own family."

"Ugh, isn't family the reason why this basement has turned into the Resistance's HQ?" I deadpan.

"Leo isn't family." Wyatt says shrugging.

There is no reason into fighting with him on this; Wyatt has made up his mind, and nothing will change that. If I didn't know any better I'd assume he was afraid of Uncle Cole, but I did know; the only person that could make my brother feel ashamed for something he did, was the half-demon who had been there for us when our father was nowhere to be found. It's understandable why Wyatt doesn't want to be the bearer of the news to Uncle Cole. Still, it doesn't mean that he won't owe me after this one. I let my head against the wall, my eyes falling shut.

"Anwen's still sleeping?" I ask, and I hear shuffling; Wyatt has picked up his pacing again.

"She was when I orbed into your room. And I can't hear any other noise in the house..." he trails off. I node to myself, opening my eyes.

"Okay, you should go." Wyatt's puzzled look makes me roll my eyes "Go find Aunt Prue, you genius." I remind him.

"Oh yeah, I knew that's what you meant." Wyatt says defensively.

"Aha, yeah okay." Wyatt is about to orb away, but then he stops. His eyes trail over to me, and he bites on his lip.

"Are you going to be okay?" he asks worriedly, and I chuckle lightly.

"Yeah, don't worry Wy, I'll be fine." I say reassuringly. Wyatt scrutinizes me for a second longer, before orbing away.

I run a hand through my hair, messing it up even more. I push against the floor, and slowly stand up, dusting my hands off on my black slacks. I look around the room, bouncing a little on my feet, as I try to find a way to say what I have to say, that won't land me in the hospital. Figuratively speaking of course. But nothing comes to mind; there is no good way of telling them this. So I just have to suck it up and do it already, because Wyatt is right; we don't have much time.

"They are going to kill me." I mutter with a small shake of my head "Um, Uncle Cole? Aunt Paige, it's Chris, I got something to tell you. Oh, Uncle Kyle you too." I add in looking around expectantly "C'mon you guys it's kind of-" I'm cut short when I hear the familiar sound of orbing, and just as Paige and Kyle appear in the room in a swirl of blue and white lights, so does Cole "Urgent." I finish of.

"What happened?" Aunt Paige asks, taking in my serious and somewhat shaken look "Chris." She calls my name when I don't immediately start explaining myself.

"Okay, just...Don't get mad, okay?"

"Chris, you know better than to start a story with 'don't get mad'." Kyle says raising his eyebrows. I lower my head, my bangs falling over my eyes; yeah, I know better.

"Prolonging the news won't make a difference you know." Uncle Cole points out. I let a sigh, and running my hand through my hair again, I look up at them.

"Melinda is missing. Anwen came over the other day, and she said she disappeared after falling in one of Leo's portals." I say in one breath. When you say something no one wants to hear, do it fast, like peeling of a band-aid mom used to say, and I make sure to follow that advice.

"What?" Uncle Kyle is the first one to find his voice. I scrap the floor with my sneaker and avoid looking him in the eye.

"Melinda is mis-"

"No I heard that." He cuts me off "How did that happen? And why are we only finding out now?"

"She and Anwen went after a Grimlock-" I am once again cut off by the sound of jingling. Soon as Wyatt appears in the basement, he runs towards me, hiding behind my back. Feeling confused as hell, I am about to ask what's wrong, but more jingles echo in the dark room.

"She's been missing for two whole days and you only mentioned it now?!" Aunt Prue's voice makes me wince. Uncle Andy has to grab her arm, and physically restrain her from marching towards Wyatt "Ooh, I would so vanquish your ass if you weren't my nephew-"

"Prue, c'mon try to calm down." I hear Uncle Andy whisper in her ear.

"Calm down? Calm down?!" she demands, rounding on her husband "Melinda has been missing, for two days! Do you know what that means? Time moves different in other time lines! It's been only two days here, but it might be weeks, months even where Melinda is!" Aunt Prue takes a deep breath, forcing herself to calm down.

"Okay, I'm sure Chris and Wyatt are very sorry-"

"Why didn't you tell us?" Uncle Cole cut Aunt Paige off, and she makes a small grimace; it's not a secret that Aunt Paige dislikes our usual fights, so we try to keep them to a minimum, but sometimes a fight is unavoidable.

"We're sorry." Wyatt chimes in, still standing behind me "We thought we could handle this on our own, but tonight after we went to sleep, I wanted to check on her, and I couldn't feel her-" I cringe just as Uncle Cole and Aunt Prue simultaneously yell,

"What?!" I throw a look over my shoulder at Wyatt whose face pales.

"Smooth."

"What do you mean you couldn't sense her?" Aunt Prue demands. I draw a deep breath and match her gaze.

"We could both sense Melinda, and I guess you all could as well, that's why none of you were alarmed." I say my eyes falling from Aunt Prue, to Aunt Paige, and then to my two Uncles "Her essence was dull, but it was there, which means that she was alive, but she wasn't here. But, as Wyatt said, after we went to bed..." I trail off, my shoulders slumming.

Aunt Prue instantly closes her eyes. She rolls her shoulders, and shakes her arms to unwind. After a couple of seconds she frowns, her eyes snapping open.

"Melinda can't be dead." She says forcefully. The words have me staggering back, colliding on my brother. It's the first time anyone says that out loud, and I can feel my stomach turning as the implications slowly start sinking in.

"No, no, of course she's not dead, she's just..." Aunt Paige can't finish her sentence. She reaches for Uncle Kyle, who puts a protective arm around her waist, pulling her closer to him.

"I don't think she's dead." Wyatt says, stepping next to me. Now that Aunt Prue has somewhat calmed down, he looks more sure of himself "It's weird but..."

"But what?" Uncle Cole prompts when he doesn't continue. Wyatt looks at me, as if looking for some strength, and I pat his back to urge him on.

"Okay, I didn't tell this to Chris because I didn't want him to think I'm crazy, but...If I concentrate I-I have some memories of Mel, memories that I shouldn't have."

"What do you mean, Wyatt?" Uncle Andy asks, frowning.

"Well, I don't know how these memories happened, because they're impossible." It's clear that Wyatt is trying to explain the situation the best way he can, but we still can't understand what he is saying "These memories are from the past, some time before Chris was born...And I can't remember her dying."

Everyone is silent for a long second, contemplating what my brother just told us. I can almost see the cogs turning in Aunt Paige's head, as she tries to work through what is going on. Uncle Cole is frowning, and so is Uncle Kyle, their brows drawn together in a similar manner, which any other time would be comical, but right now it isn't. Aunt Prue looks at Uncle Andy, who gives her a small reassuring smile before leaning forward to drop a kiss on her forehead.

"So, what you are saying is, that Melinda is teleported into the past, when you were a baby?" Uncle Cole surmises.

"Yeah, I think so. And there are also, some other memories..." Wyatt's eyes skip to me.

"Other memories?" Aunt Paige inquires. Wyatt glimpses at me again, and then nods.

"What kind of memories?" this time it's Aunt Prue.

"They have Chris in them, but not-" Wyatt pauses and looks me in the eyes "Not you. It's like...like he's another version of you."

"Okay, what the hell is going in the past?" Aunt Paige snaps. Aunt Prue bites on her lip.

"I don't know, but we're going to find out."

"Are you thinking what I'm thinking?" Aunt Paige questions quirking an eyebrow. Despite her anger, and wariness Aunt Prue manages to smile to her.

"You know it sister." She says with a wink.

"Okay, what's going on?" I question, not liking feeling out of the loop.

"We are going on a rescue mission." Aunt Prue says.

"What? Are you crazy? No, this is too dangerous!" I say, only to get brushed off.

"Oh relax, you worrywart." Aunt Paige says waggling her eyebrows "We're only going to drop in, grab your sister and get out."

"Ah, no dropping in for you." Aunt Prue says, looking at her sister. A scowl appears in Aunt Paige's face.

"Excuse me?" Aunt Prue turns to Uncle Kyle with a look that clearly reads 'should I tell her, or will you?'

"Basic time travel rule, honey; two versions of the same person can't have powers. If you go there, your powers will have to stay behind, and that will be an unnecessary risk." Uncle Kyle explains.

"Exactly. Which means you're out of the question too." Aunt Prue says pointing her finger at me.

"What? But Wyatt and I are the obvious choice-"

"Didn't you hear what your Uncle said?" Aunt Prue cut me off, a smug smile appearing on her face. Unbelievable!

"Okay, so how are we going to do this?" Uncle Cole asks looking at her.

"Whoa, whoa; who said **you**'ll go with her?" Wyatt steps in.

"I'm Melinda's adoptive father."

"She called you that once when she was fourteen."

"I'm her Uncle."

"And I'm her brother!" Wyatt raises his voice.

"Didn't **you** hear what your Uncle said?" I return the question, looking at my brother. Wyatt gives me a smug smile.

"Please, I think the Twice Blessed prophesied son of a Charmed One will manage to work around the stupid time travel rule." He says, and my mouth falls open, a silly look taking over my face. After a couple of seconds of me just staring at him, I shake my head, cross my arms, and give him one of my usual acerbic looks.

"C'mon, Wyatt, not even you can be that cocky." Wyatt throws his head back, and barks a laugh.

"I'm not, but I had to see your reaction; it's the best thing that happened to me all week." He says, and my sarcastic face turns into a scowl.

"Does it beat sleeping in the same room with An?" I shoot back, and Wyatt's cheeks turn red. From the corner of my eye I can see Aunt Prue trying to hide a smile, while Aunt Paige shakes her head, an amused glint in her eyes.

"Baby 'me' doesn't have all of my powers." Wyatt decides to change the topic "And the ones he has are not fully formed, so my powers should be fine."

"It still doesn't mean you should go back." Uncle Cole says, and Wyatt is quick to glare at him.

"Well then, try to stop me!" he snaps.

"Okay, guys, guys no need to fight." Aunt Paige steps between the two. Wyatt just barely manages to keep his anger in check, and I see how Uncle Coles' left hand twitches; a telltale sign that he's irritated. I grab my brother's arm and pull him backwards, giving his hand a squeeze. After all we all just want the same thing; Melinda to come home safely. It doesn't matter who will bring her back, as long as the mission ends without casualties.

"How are you even planning on going back in the first place?" the words leave my mouth without my consent, and everyone turns to look at me.

"Well, between the four of us, we could probably open a portal that would teleport...whomever, back to the past safely." Uncle Andy says.

"Forget it, it's too risky." Uncle Cole shoots the suggestion down immediately "Your collective power will immediately notify Leo, and we need him away for as long as possible."

"Cole is right." Aunt Paige agrees.

"Okay, than what other option do we have?" Wyatt questions.

"Well...I do have a proposition, but it's risky." I say. Aunt Prue gives me a node, prompting me to go on "You could go over to the Hunting Zone." I say simply.

"No." Wyatt's response is curt and comes way too fast.

"Wyatt, it's the only way-"

"No, it's even riskier than opening a portal."

"Listen to me; this is the only way. If you open the portal, Leo will know instantly. He'll orb here, and once he finds out that Melinda is gone, we don't know what he'll do. I know that the Hunting Zone is dangerous-"

"Those time portals could take us back to the Jurassic era, and then we're stuck there, permanently." Wyatt cuts me off. I don't mean to, but my eyes narrow playfully, and my head cocks on the side.

"The Jurassic era, seriously?"

"Chris this is not funny!" Wyatt yells in my face. I cross my arms, my shoulders tensing as I look at my brother.

"You don't think I know that? You don't think I feel just as guilty as you do Wyatt?" I demand, and he quickly retrieves his gaze "It was a direct order from both of us! Mel and An, went after that Grimlock because we **both **told them so! Don't you think I regret that just as much as you do?"

"I'm the big brother; I'm supposed to take care of you guys." Wyatt's voice sounds defeated, making me soften ever so slightly.

"Wyatt you do. You've been taking care of us ever since Mom died. And you've done a hell of a job too. But this is not only your fault; it's mine too. So don't blame everything on yourself."

"Chris might be onto something, the Hunting Zone is the best chance we got." Uncle Cole says, and I'm grateful that someone finally broke the tensioned silence that had fallen upon us.

"It's still too risky, and the result is not certain." Aunt Prue admonishes.

"So we sent two teams." I speak up, gathering everyone's attention again "We split our chances."

"And what about the ones who stay behind? How will you guys manage if we all up and leave?" Wyatt wants to know.

"Well not all, Andy has to stay." Aunt Prue says looking at her husband "The Whitelighters are still very apprehensive of organizing against Leo-"

"Can you blame them?" Aunt Paige and I say at the same time. We share a look, and a chuckle before returning our focus to Aunt Prue, who after a small headshake goes on.

"As I was saying; they're still very apprehensive, and some of them are only willing to do it because Andy is involved. So I'm sorry, but you can't come."

"It's okay." Uncle Andy says with a warm smile, his hand coming up to cup the side of her face. Aunt Prue leans into his touch "I trust you to bring our niece back home."

"And I think that I and my neurotic little Whitelighter of a nephew, are capable enough to hold the fort in your absence." Aunt Paige says, giving me a wink. Oh yeah, that we definitely are.

"Prue, whenever you're ready-"

"Actually, Uncle Cole, I think it would be better for you to go with Wyatt." The half-demon I've grown up to call uncle blinks at me "Well, there's a great possibility that when you show up they will try to vanquish you-"

"Nothing they haven't tried before." Uncle Cole says aloofly, giving a snide look to Aunt Paige.

"You **were **kind of evil, and you did create an alternate universe where I was dead, so you can't hold it against us." Aunt Paige shoots back just as well as she received. Uncle Cole smirks.

"I never said I did."

"I have so many questions right now." I mutter to myself getting a few chuckles, and pointed looks out of them. There are still so many things regarding Uncle Cole that we don't know, and no one seems to be willing to tell us, which is frankly really annoying "But as I was saying; if they do try to vanquish you, Wyatt's shield will protect you and I think that will convince them faster than anything Aunt Prue will tell them."

"I agree with Chris." Wyatt says his hand coming on my shoulder, and I smile to myself.

"I also agree. So that means I'm going with Kyle." Aunt Prue says. "I still have my active powers, and I don't exist in the past, considering I get the time line correct, so we've got nothing to worry about."

"When are we leaving?" Wyatt questions.

"Soon, but not right away; we have to organize this." Aunt Prue says.

"And we can't leave all on the same day; we might attract too much attention on us, and we don't want that."

"Right, Leo's cronies have an on the clock patrol system." Uncle Kyle observes.

"Yeah, with the occasional lunch break." Uncle Andy adds.

"Or witch hunt." Aunt Paige says coldly.

"That's when we strike. We've got to make sure the cost is clear, and it hardly ever is over at the Hunting Zone." Aunt Prue says leaving a sigh, and leaning against Uncle Andy.

"The Zone is deserted when the patrol team gets there." Uncle Cole points out.

"Right, sometime around six on the evening the place is empty, aside from the demons on the patrol squad." I say remembering the schedule I'd seen on Leo's office a couple of weeks ago, which mapped out the patrols' routes and timetables "But you've got to be careful."

"Well the patrol teams are consisted of six demons, we could easily take them down." Uncle Cole shrugs.

"If we can avoid killing them, we should; everyone's powers in the patrol force are linked, if we kill one of them the rest will know. That will defeat the purpose of doing this in secrecy, and it will create a huge problem that I'm not sure we'll be able to clean up." Aunt Prue says and Aunt Paige nodes in agreement.

"Okay people let's wrap this up for tonight." Aunt Paige says clapping her hands. Wyatt and I exchange a doubtful look.

"What?" was all I can come up with.

"You want us to go back to sleep? Our sister is missing!"

"Yes, and she's been missing for two days now, but you had no problem sleeping before she fell off the radar." Aunt Paige says fixing us both with a look we know too well. It is the kind of look she gives us when she wants us to know that we'd already lost the argument.

"Boys, Aunt Paige is right. It's three in the morning, and we all had very tiring days, I think a little bit of sleep will help us all." Aunt Prue says with a gentle voice.

"There's no way to change your mind, is there?" Wyatt's attempt makes both our Aunts chuckle.

"No." Aunt Prue says with a small smile "But I promise you Wyatt, we'll be here first thing in the morning." She says and Wyatt lowers his head, muttering a quick 'okay' under his breath "We'll get your sister back."

Sleeping doesn't sound that bad. I can feel the early signs of headache creeping up one me, making my eyes hurt. And besides who knows when we'd get the privilege of a warm bed and a full night's sleep again once Leo is back? We have to be practical about this, and not allow our feelings to interfere; we have to be on our best game when Leo gets back, or else organizing the heavens and the hell would be in vain.

"We know." I say, and after patting Wyatt's shoulder, I orb to my room. For the first couple of seconds, before my head hits the pillow, the silence is deafening, and the darkness scary. I have a vivid flash of my Mother putting on a great performance as she checked under my bed for monsters, and her radiant smile as she wished me a good night, before I allow the darkness to claim me.

* * *

"I think I need a drink." Cole says, his head rolling back, and I couldn't agree more. I rub a hand over my eyes and take a deep breath.

"I think a stop by P3 is mandatory." I mutter, and there are several, incoherent consents of approval around me. Without another word I orb out, and re-materialise in the old club.

There's nothing in here that reminds me of my sister any more. The club has been shut down for almost eight years now, and the signs of decay are more than obvious. It's one of the few places that Leo has kept intact; P3, the Bay Mirror's offices, the church where Paige's parents found her, and ironically enough the Buckland Auction House. One significant place for all four of us. The buildings were kept intact, while the town around us withered, and part by part died, under Leo's rule.

I smile a refuel smile, as I reach for the whiskey bottle behind the bar, and try to imagine how pissed off Leo will be if he ever finds out that one of his little shrines has been turned into a safe-house. We, the funding members of the resistance, have a good sense of dark humour and irony if nothing else and that's why we chose for the HQ to be just under Leo's nose, in the basement where he never ventured. It was that same sense that made us expand the space bellow and over P3 into a safe-house, capable to fit in more than three thousand people. A proud smile covers my features, as I think of the wards Chris has put up to conceal the place from Leo and his demons; all they can see coming close to it is my sister's club, nothing more, nothing less. But in reality it's so much more...

I let my gaze wonder around, as I hear the jingling of the rest of the family orbing in. The club is dark and dusty, with the stools overturned, and the curtain drawn over the stage. Piper would have a fit if she saw the state of her beloved club. A pang of grief shoots through me, as I remember the sister I left behind twenty years ago without my will. Hot tears prickle my eyes, and I try to keep them at bay, reminding myself that I would soon be reunited with both Piper and Phoebe. I would finally be able to hold them in my arms again, and tell them just how much I've missed them. Well, that is if I get the time line correctly.

"Ugh, we need to hire someone to clean up this place." I hear my baby sister say in disdain, and I chuckle as I get sight of her disgusted expression.

I've lost Piper and Phoebe, but I've gained Paige. I've finally got to meet the sister I sacrificed myself for, and I wouldn't change that for the world. Paige and I have many similarities, both in character and in powers. She had my sarcasm and stubbornness, but I guess those are common Halliwell traits. But Paige is also focused and pragmatic, hard on the exterior but a softie on the inside, just like me.

"Should we first take Leo's permission, or should we start the interviews for the job without it?" Cole comments dryly, looking at me expectantly. Grabbing a couple of glasses from underneath the bar, I loudly lay them on the table, and start pouring scotch in it.

"Nah, I don't think he'll mind if we do this on our own." Paige shoots back, and then slips her hand over the glass that was resting in front of her, as I'm about to pour her a shot "None for me, thanks."

"It's only a drink, doctor recommended." I say raising an eyebrow.

"Prue, you know I shouldn't drink." She says pinning those hazel eyes of hers in mine, and I sigh. She's right; she has history with alcohol, and it's wise of her to stay away from it, even after all those years.

"Kyle?" I ask knowing how my brother-in-law usually abstains for moral support to his wife.

"Hit me." He says with a tired groan, slipping on the stool next to Paige, his head falling on to her shoulder. Paige's hand instantly comes to his hair and she starts running her fingers thought it. I turn to look at Andy who shakes his head.

"Ugh, do you happen to have a beer?" he asks, and I chuckle lightly, amazed by how little he's changed through the years.

"I'm sorry, but no." I say putting the bottle back on the bar.

"Well, I can help with that." Paige says with a smirk. She holds her hand out and calls "Beer bottle." A swarm of blue and white particles appear on her hand, and they quickly form into a bear bottle.

"You're a life saviour." Andy comments as she slides the beer towards him, making her smile in embarrassment.

"Yes she is." Kyle agrees, lifting his head to kiss her cheek. I spent another couple of moments, just looking at them revelling at the thought that at least one of my sisters is alive and happy, well relatively, before turning my attention to Cole.

"How are things going down there?" I ask bringing my glass to my mouth. Cole takes a sip, his blue eyes pinning on the liquid inside his glass, a sigh leaving his lips.

"Slowly." He says, his eyes snapping up to mine "Stupid as the demons are, they're not stupid enough to go against Leo. Some of them are completely reluctant, others want a reward if they join." Cole lowers his head and runs a hand through his hair.

"You think you can make them come around?" Andy asks and Cole shakes his glass, causing some of the whiskey to spill out.

"I know I will try, but I can't promise anything." Cole heaves another sigh "Patty might have a better chance with some of them, they seem to be more willing to listen to her."

"Didn't they used to call Patty 'the bratty hafling'?" Paige recalls drawing a hearty laugh out of Cole.

"Oh, I remember that." Kyle chimes in "Phoebe was so pissed."

"She was worse than pissed, she was livid." Cole says, a huge smile spreading across his face "No one was allowed to call her little angel a 'hafling'."

"She had no problem with the 'bratty' part?" I question, and Cole raises an eyebrow.

"Well, she couldn't argue with the truth." He says with a small shrug. I laugh and then take another sip of my drink.

"Where are the girls any way?" I question, and Cole's eyes shoot to the floor "No, you left them alone at the Underworld?"

"Oh please, those three can handle those pour-excuses of demons better than I ever could." Cole said a lazy but proud smile, stretching across his face. I know he sounds aloof, but I'm almost certain he's cast some kind of spell over his three girls just to make sure they'll keep out of trouble. Cole is nothing if not an overprotective father, a fact that Patty hates with a passion.

"Talking about kids, we should probably check in on Paul." Paige says turning to Kyle, who sighs, and gives her a reproving smile.

"Paige we talked about this, Paul is old enough-"

"I'd still like to check on him." Paige cuts him off.

"He won't be happy about it." Kyle says knowingly, but Paige crosses her arms, her lips creating a thin line.

"I don't care." Kyle exhales again, his hand coming to rub his chin. He looks her in the eye for a few silent seconds, and then gives her a nod. Paige turns to me, and with small wave of her fingers, she's gone.

"Okay, explanation time." I said pouring some more whiskey in his glass.

"Safe house nine was attacked today." Kyle says, his blue eyes pinned on his hands.

"What?" I hear my own self question at the same time with Andy and Cole. Kyle grabs his glass in his hand, nodding a slow confirmation. It seems that there was one too many things that I didn't know about.

"We still don't know who gave the order, but we know it didn't come from Leo. I was in heavens with Andy the whole day, and I found out just over an hour before Chris called to tell us about Melinda."

"How bad?" Cole asks and a pained expression crosses Kyle's face.

"We lost the ¼." He says and takes a sip of his scotch, his eyes falling close.

"One fourth." I mutter under my breath "How many is that?"

"The capacity of the safe house was roughly, four thousand people, some alterations had to be made to fit another couple hundreds." Kyle's voice was barely audible, but the silence in the club, made it sound loud and clear.

"So...around one thousand people?" Cole asks and Kyle's shoulders stiffen as he nodes yes. I let a shaky breath; it's bad, but it could've been much worse.

"Yeah, they managed to fight off the attack early on, so the casualties were...controlled."

"And Paul?" Andy questions, and a small smile graces Kyle's face.

"He wanted to stay behind, heal anyone that needs to be healed, and play shrink to those who lost someone."

"You got a good kid, Brody." Cole says, clinking his glass against Kyle's, who smiles again.

"What about Charlie?" I question, and Kyle looks up at me.

"Paige sent her home. She was not happy about it." He says, and then he inclines his glass towards me "Where's Prescott?"

"France." Andy responds instead of me, and Kyle frowns at him "Cassandra said that if no one visited to let her know what's going on she'd orb home to find out on her own. Pres, didn't want to risk it."

"You know, sooner or later you'll have to tell her." Cole says, and I see Andy's hand clenching around his beer "She's already asking about Peter, it's a matter of time she starts asking about Arianna." Kyle lowers his head, bringing his glass to his mouth "And then before you know it she'll start questioning why Uncle Leo is killing people."

I brace myself against the bar, and draw in a breath; Cole's right, Cassandra is young but she's not stupid. She already knows that there's something wrong with her brother. I can feel the tears in my eyes, and my heart constricts, as I think about my boy, but I can't afford to lose it.

Peter is gone, and it hurts to think about it. But not thinking about it only hurts more. We had no time to mourn for him, in this constant battlefield. We barely had the time to bury him, let alone reminisce of the time we had together. Andy put on a brave facade, and I did the same, staying strong for Prescott who allowed himself to break down.

One look at Kyle, and I know that he's thinking of his baby girl. Arianna's death was so sudden, and tragic, it left the rest of us just staring in disbelief. I think Paige is still in denial about it, and I know for a fact that so is Charlie. Paul is the only one who's trying to work through his grief, and he's the only helping Kyle to face the facts.

"You think Melinda is alive?" Andy questions, and I clench onto the bar with both hands, not turning to look at him.

"She has to be." Cole responds, his face grim.

"We shouldn't let ourselves believe otherwise." Kyle speaks up "If not for us, then for Chris and Wyatt's sake."

"Yes, but if she's..." Andy trails off, unable to bring himself to finish the sentence "Then we might actually have a chance against Leo."

"I'd gladly suffer Leo's tyranny and stupidity, if it meant Melinda would be safe."

If I were still the same woman I were when I found out I was a witch, I would've agreed with him in an instant. But I am not. I'd seen too much, I'd been through situations I never thought were possible; I'd died, I'd become a Whitelighter, then a wife and a mother. I met the sister I was never supposed to meet, and I fought a war against my brother-in-law. A war that caused me one son and one niece.

And even though I am fiercely protective of Melinda, and I love her with all my heart, I know that sacrifice is unavoidable. I'd take her place, if I could. But I can't, and it is unfair on so many levels.

The truth though remains; as long as all three of Piper's children are alive, Leo is invincible.

* * *

**A/N: Okay guys, this is important; if you liked this chapter I would really appreciate it if you'd let me know, because I'm considering to start a new fic, kind of a prequel to this story, and explain what went wrong in Melinda's time line. The story will start with Prue's death, then there will be a chapter where Leo joins the Avatar and the actual story will start around the time the Ultimate Battle took place. We'll find out how Cole came back to life, what happened to Coop, how Paige ended up with Kyle and not Henry, why Prue is back, and of course why Leo became the bad guy. Some questions will be answered in this story, but not all of them. Sooooo if you liked the chapter, and you want all of the questions answered, just let me know in your reviews **


	23. Chapter 23

**Disclaimer: I don't own the series Charmed or any of the original characters. **

**A/N: ****Hey guys! This chapter took a little longer because this weekend was the Greek Carnival, and everything was a bit crazy and I had no time to write...But it's done now! It's a filler, and I know that no one likes fillers, but sometimes they're needed. So here ya go, chapter 23****!**

* * *

The blood. There was so much blood. Where was it coming from? Chris looked down on himself, expecting to find a gushing hole somewhere in his torso, much like the one Prue sported in the future. But his upper body seemed to be untouched. Chris frowned.

"What the..." he murmured under his breath, his eyes running down his body once more. Then he heard the thud. He spun around, his eyes growing wide when he saw Melinda lying on the floor, her white top soaked in her own blood "No, no, no." He whispered frantically, dropping on his knees as well.

He rolled Melinda on the side, and held his hand over her, wishing for his healing power to work just this one time. But nothing happened.

"Will you do something?!" He yelled, his eyes snapping on Leo's face. The harsh yell seemed to stir the Elder out of his stupor.

"What happened to her?" Paige questioned, her voice way smaller than he was used to.

"Wyatt." Chris said, his hands slightly trembling, as the anger started building inside him once again.

"Wyatt? What do you mean Wyatt?" Phoebe, who was now standing just behind him, asked. Leo looked up at him, his gaze also questioning, his hands still glowing over Melinda's body.

"I mean that Wyatt did this to her." Chris said simply, knowing that his mission was about to take a whole new turn.

"But I don't understand." He heard his mother's voice. Chris clenched his fists, never taking his eyes off Melinda.

"I lied to you." He admitted, expecting one of them to cut him off before he even had the chance to start. But no one did "I didn't come back in time to save Wyatt from some evil." Chris paused to take a breath, knowing that the truth wouldn't be easy for them to accept "I came back to stop Wyatt from turning evil." He finished, just as the glow died under Leo's hands.

There was a silence in the attic that made the hair on the nape of his neck stand up. The only thing that could be heard was Melinda's slightly heavier than normal breathing as she lied unconscious on the floor.

"Why isn't she up?" Paige asked, grasping from something to distract herself from the news Chris had just delivered.

"She's exhausted." Leo and Chris said at the same time. Chris pinned in his father's eyes for a long second, before turning his gaze away "She's been through a great deal of stress, and she overused her powers. Her body temporarily shut down to allow her to rest." Leo went on, his hand coming down on Melinda's shoulder, giving it a small squeeze.

Chris waved his hand over his sister's body, thinking of Paige's bedroom, and Melinda was drawn in a swarm of sparkling blue and white lights as she was orbed into her bed. Leo's hand fell on the floor, and Chris jumped up taking a deep breath, and preparing for what he knew was coming.

It didn't come though. For the following five minutes no one said a thing. Paige was doing anything she could, while doing nothing at all, to not think about what Chris had said. She just couldn't deal with any more news. In the last forty-eight hours she'd found out she'd have another nephew, and a little niece, that she was going to get married to a Whitelighter, and that somehow Leo was going to turn crazy in the future. She was already overwhelmed.

Phoebe's mind on the other hand was going in an overdrive. From the first time since Chris had come back from the future, she was able to get a reading out of him which only resulted into confirming what she'd already guessed; he was done pretending. Chris feelings were currently giving her a severe case of headache as they changed faster than she could blink.

Piper's silence was the one that had Chris squirming. He had no problem handling Leo's distrust and hard words, and he'd learned how to deal with his aunts behaving the same way. But his mother...The harsh words coming out of **her** mouth were the only ones that cut deeper than any dagger could, and Chris was almost scared of her reaction after what he'd said about her eldest son.

Piper herself was somewhere between Paige and Phoebe's state; she didn't want to think about it, but she couldn't stop. She believed Chris, but she didn't want to believe him. Her son wasn't evil, Wyatt could never be evil! He was the strongest source of good to ever grace the planet, and yet this neurotic little freak...

Piper cut herself sort, horrified of how easy it was for her to retrieve back into calling Chris names, when his truth didn't suit her. He was her son, the son she'd been crying about only hours ago because he'd been abducted by his fiancé, and yet it was much easier for her to turn against him, than accept what he was saying.

"You're lying."

Chris was somewhat thankful that someone finally broke the tensed silence; he didn't know how much more of it he could take. He turned and fixed Leo with a glare, ready to shutter his father's whole world. The idea made him smile a little; _time to find out how much of an angel your favourite son is, Dad, _he thought bitterly.

"No I am not." He said his voice steady and smooth "Wyatt is gonna grow up and terrorize people with his powers." He said enjoying how Leo flinched with every new word that left his mouth "He'll take over, kill even. Well, mostly kill." He corrected himself "Taking over was kind of an afterthought."

"Why should we believe you after all the lies?" his father questioned, his face cold and his voice hard. Chris kept his eyes pinned on him, reluctant to see the effect his words had on the rest of the family.

"Because I'm telling the truth. And because you have to."

"No, Chris, we don't actually." Chris raised an eyebrow, cocking his head on the side.

"We?" he questioned "You're so sure that everyone else in this room shares your view on the topic?" he saw Leo's eyes flickering between the three women standing behind him "Look, it doesn't matter whether or not you believe me; I'm here to stop my brother from killing all these people in the future. You're welcome to try and stop me, but don't be delusional and expect it to work." Chris stilled himself for a second, allowing the feeling of satisfaction to fill him throughout "Oh, and I could always tell you what your precious son did to you, if you need some more convincing. Now, excuse me, but before Wyatt sent my fiancé to abduct me, I was about to go after a new lead." Chris turned to look to his Aunts, his stomach sinking a little when he came face to face with their grim expressions "Please call me when Melinda wakes up." He said in a much softer voice than the one he addressed Leo with, and then he orbed out.

"Piper." Paige said rushing next to her sister, when she saw her swaying dangerously. Paige put her arm around Piper's waist, steadying "Hey sweetie, maybe you should go sit down."

"No, no I'm fine." Piper brushed off the suggestion, shaking her head a little.

"No you're not, and it's understandable." Paige went on, leading her towards Aunt Pearl's couch.

"Chris is lying, he has to be." Leo said looking at his wife.

"Why would he lie about something like that?" Paige snapped at him. Maybe she was allowing Melinda's memories to affect her a little too much, but Paige was feeling an animosity towards Leo she'd only experienced once before; when Cole was still alive, before they found out he was evil again.

"I don't know...Maybe he has some sort of agenda..."

"Leo, he's our son." Piper said. Accepting that Wyatt was evil was hard for her too, but she wouldn't go around accusing Chris of lying because she was in denial.

"Maybe he's the evil one." Leo said, and Piper narrowed her eyes to him, as a gasp left Paige's mouth "No, no, think about it; Maybe Chris is the evil one, and Wyatt is trying to stop him, so Chris came back here to hurt Wyatt-"

"Leo, stop." Phoebe's voice was gentle as she cut through his ramblings "Chris was being honest."

"We don't know that-"

"But I do." Phoebe said, both her hands coming up to her chest.

"You mean you finally got something from him?" Paige asked her eyebrows raised. Phoebe nodded.

"He was being completely honest, Leo. I'm sorry." Leo shook his head taking a couple of steps back.

"He tricked you-"

"No one has managed to trick me before." Phoebe said with a sympathetic smile. She could feel Leo's confusion, and the ever building sense of despair surging through him "And I don't think Chris did."

"He must've cast a spell, a-a potion-"

"Leo, that's enough." Piper snapped, getting up "You can think whatever you want, but I won't let you accuse Chris-"

"Piper, Wyatt is not evil!" Leo snapped back at her. Piper gave him a condescending head nod.

"He's not, not now. And if it's up to me, he'll never be. But he is in Chris' future. He told us so, and I believe him." Leo opened her mouth to speak, but she raised her hand stopping him "You won't change my mind. You will certainly not change Paige's mind." She said glimpsing at her baby sister; she'd easily picked the tension between Leo and Paige, and she made a mental note to talk to the later about it "And Phoebe told you already that she believes him. Now, you will have to excuse me; I got a hurt daughter, and I would like to spend as much time as I can with her." Piper said and with one last pointed look at Paige, she walked out.

Paige also looked up, her hands smoothing her jeans. She nodded to herself, and jerked her thumb towards the door "I'm gonna go..." she trailed off.

"Yeah." Phoebe said, having caught the look between her sisters. Paige bit on her lip, her eyes moving back and forth between Phoebe and Leo for a second, before finally following her eldest sister to her room.

Leo let a heavy sigh and walked to the couch, slamming down on to it. He rested his elbows on his knees, and hid his face in his hands. Phoebe wanted to help, but she couldn't do anything if Leo wasn't even a little bit open to the possibility that Chris was telling the truth.

"Hey, talk to me." She said, joining him on the couch. Leo turned his head on the side, still resting it on the palms of his hands, his eyes searching her face.

"Do you really believe him?" Phoebe pressed her lips in a line, thinking what she could say to make this easier for him; she couldn't come up with anything.

"I do." She said sincerely. Leo groaned and hid his face again. Phoebe laid her hand on his shoulder "Leo it's hard for all of us-"

"Wyatt can't be evil, Phoebe." His voice came muffled.

"Honey, we are not going to let it happen again-"

"But if we couldn't stop it from happening the first time..." Leo trailed off, and Phoebe let a small smile take over her face; maybe he could come around after all "Why will this time be any different?"

"Because thanks to Chris, now we know, and we'll be prepared." Phoebe said stroking his back. She saw him nodding his head.

"It's just so hard...Wyatt is only a baby." Leo muttered, finally raising his head "He's only a baby, Phoebe, and he's good. He is...he's pure, and-"

"But he's also powerful." Phoebe cut him off "And we all know how easy it is to be tempted. How easy it is to give in, to not have to worry about consequences."

"Yes, but why didn't we see it?" Leo asked, his desperation sipping in his voice "Why didn't we stop it?" Phoebe lowered her own head, her hand coming up to rub her eyes.

"I don't know."

* * *

Paige halted outside the ajar door, when she heard sniffling. She leaned forward to take a peek into the room, and she saw Piper sitting on the armchair next to the double bed, tears trailing down her face. She was holding Melinda's hand with both of hers, leaning on to the bed as if to be closer to the girl.

Paige could feel the back of her own eyes burning, as she blinked to keep the tears away. They couldn't all break down at the same moment, it would be disastrous. And Piper needed this more than she did, so Paige decided to be strong for her sister. Maybe then Piper would finally open up to her.

She tapped lightly on the door, to give Piper some time to compose herself, and waited to be called inside.

"Paige, you can come in, I know you've been standing there for almost five minutes now." Piper said, a small mirthless chuckle, escaping her lips.

"Damn, I thought I was a better spy than that." The youngest Charmed One teased, feeling a bit awkward; sarcasm had always been her defence against nervousness.

"Well, being a witch for almost seven years now, I have developed a spidey sense." Piper joked as well. She wiped at her eyes with one hand, the other still clenching Melinda's.

"How is she?" Paige asked, her gaze falling on her niece. Piper drew a shaky breath.

"She's sleeping, but when I touched her arm she hissed in pain, so I'm guessing she's not completely healed."

"Some things can't be healed." Paige pointed out, sitting on the arm of Piper's chair "She might be in pain, but she's going to be alright."

"I hope you're right." Piper said turning to look at her. Paige gave her a warm smile.

"I know I am." She meant to sound smug, but it only came out like she was trying to reassure herself.

Piper could tell that her sister was also worried about Melinda's recovery. She could also recognise the signs of Paige battling with herself inside her head; the faraway look, the excessive lip biting, even the tense jerking of her left foot. She had a pretty good idea of what was causing the conflict in Paige's mind, and she slowly ventured to broach the topic.

"You and Mel seem to be pretty close in the future." She started, getting a smile out of Paige.

"Yeah, we do, don't we?" Paige asked, looking fondly at the girl sleeping on the bed she called hers before her relationship with Richard got serious "Although, I'm sure she's much closer with you-"

"Paige, relax. I'm not jealous." Piper cut her off. Paige gave her a doubtful look "I am not, I promise. I know my daughter loves me, she wouldn't wake up in the middle of the night crying about my death, if she didn't." Piper said calmly, making Paige flinch.

"You caught that too, huh?" another thing that Paige didn't want to think about. If she could pretend the conversation between Cole and Melinda never happened, everything would be so much easier. Piper nodded.

"I did. I can't say I've made my peace with it, but I'm getting there-"

"Piper, we are not going to let you die." Paige cut her off "Not this time around." She said firmly, and Piper smiled at her, reaching for her hand. Paige lowered her head, and Piper gave her hand a squeeze.

"I know, but maybe this is my destiny." She said, tilting her head on the side, as she looked at her baby sister "Like it was Prue's destiny. Maybe it's not something we can change." She said softly.

"Well then, we'll die trying to change it." Paige's eyes snapped up at hers, and Piper felt her heart breaking a little when she saw the tears gathered there.

"No, sweetie, you won't." Paige shook her head "Paige, we've learnt a while ago, before we got to meet you, that saving five strangers, or the whole world is more important than saving a sister." Piper said, her mind momentarily flashing to the Apocalypse that never came to be "And I know that you, and Phoebe, will do so much good even after I'm gone."

"But without the Power of Three-"

"You'll still be two very strong witches. And no matter where I'll be, I'll be so proud of you." Piper said, a couple of tears sliding down her cheeks. Paige sniffed loudly, her teeth biting hard on her lower lip.

"Why are we even talking about this?" she said shaking her head "This is stupid, it's not going to happen so..." Paige cleared her throat, and let out a wobbly breath.

"Paige, I know that after seeing those memories you feel overprotective over Melinda." Piper began, remembering why she started this conversation "I know that Leo in the future, is not the person we know, but you shouldn't take your anger out on our Leo. He hasn't done those things yet, and he doesn't deserve it."

"I know." Paige said slowly, after a few silent minutes "I know, but it's just hard to separate the feelings and it's even harder to tell them apart, when Leo behaves like that." She said coldly, and Piper knew she was talking about Leo accusing Chris.

"It is, but it will be hard for him to have both Melinda and Chris hating him while knowing they are his children. We shouldn't make it any worse for him." Piper was right, Paige knew that. But it was really hard.

"Then he shouldn't make hating him so easy." She deadpanned. She realised what she'd said a minute too late, and her cheeks blushed a bright shade of pink, but her gaze didn't waiver.

"Paige." Piper's tone was one of warning; Leo had been nothing but nice towards Paige, welcoming her in the family even when Phoebe and Piper had trouble doing so. He had been there for her, when her own sisters weren't, and Piper wasn't going to allow Paige to forget that so easily "Remember who we are talking about." Paige let a sigh.

"I do, and I know I shouldn't feel this way, but I can't help it. I just need some time to sort out my feelings."

"We all do." Piper agreed. She still had no idea how she felt about having two more babies with Leo, or about Cole coming back into their lives and having such a close relationship with her kids. Melinda shifted on the bed, making both women look at her expectantly, but she resumed her sleeping, just clenching the pillow tighter in her grasp.

This was not the big heart on heart Paige had in mind, but it was a start; at least now she knew that Piper believed in her. She cleared her throat, attracting her sister's attention, and stood up.

"I think I'm gonna go over to Richard's." She said playing with her fingers "I haven't seen him at all today..." she trailed off.

"I understand."

"Call me, if you need anything. And if Melinda wakes up." Paige said and Piper gave her a node. Paige leaned forward and dropped a kiss on Melinda's forehead, and then she orbed away, leaving Piper once again alone.

* * *

Melinda groaned in pain, as she felt her whole body protesting to the slightest move. She tried to roll on her side, but her left arm started burning the second it touched the mattress, a painful moan escaping her lips.

"Easy there." She heard a familiar voice, and a warm, soothing pair of hands brushed the hair from her face.

Melinda tried to open her eyes but it was a much more difficult task than it should be. She wanted to ask where she was, the last thing she could remember was Prue lying dead by her feet, her tongue though wasn't willing to cooperate and she ended up whimpering some more.

"I know honey, I know it hurts. I'm sorry." The voice said again, and Melinda fought to open her eyelids; they faltered, and she managed to get a glimpse of the ceiling, but then she plunged into darkness once again.

She tried to drift back to sleep, but it was impossible. She guessed she had been sleeping for many hours, because it was usually exceptionally easy for her to fall asleep, unless she'd had enough of nap time. There was a hand on her face then, stroking her cheek, and her forehead, making her stomach tingle with warmth; it felt nice to be taken care off.

She heard a knock on her door, and the person sitting next to her bed, urged someone else inside. _C'mon, one last time Mel_, she pep talked herself, focusing all her strength into opening her eyes.

It was like she was trying to lift a tone with her eyelids. It hurt, and it felt like someone or something was pushing her eyes close. But Melinda was nothing if not stubborn; she gritted her teeth, and forced her eyes to open. The sunlight getting through the window was not much, but to her sore eyes it was blinding, and it had her blinking rapidly. She felt her lashes getting heavy again, and she panicked, thrusting left and right; she didn't want to go back to the darkness.

The sound of the drapes being dragged reached her ears, and she let a relieved sight, as her eyes adjusted to the room's dim lighting.

"Well, well, look who decided to wake up." Paige said teasingly, standing next to the window, her arms crossed. Melinda's eyes flickered between the two women, finally resting on the one sitting on the armchair next to her bed.

"Mom?" she said questioningly, feeling confused. Piper gave her a huge smile, and leaned forward to drop a kiss on her forehead.

"Hey, honey, welcome back." She greeted pushing back her tears. With great difficult, Melinda brought her hand up to her forehead, rubbing the skin there.

"What happened?" she asked turning her attention to her Aunt.

"What's the last thing you remember?" Paige asked back, moving to the bed, and taking a sit on the side of it. Melinda licked her lips, as she concentrated on the last memory she had, before waking up in pain minutes ago.

"Prue dying-" Melinda shut up instantly.

"Who's Prue?" Piper asked, and Melinda plastered an indifferent look on her face.

"No one." She lied.

"Okay, usually you're a much better liar than that." Paige pointed out.

"Melinda, you know you can trust us, right?" Piper asked, and Melinda looked away. Piper let her head fall forward "Right." She muttered under her breath.

"It's not that I don't trust you. Knowing won't help with anything, it will just hurt you." Melinda explained her gaze pinned on the window.

"Honey, you don't need to protect us." Paige said, touching her leg over the quilt "It should be the other way around." Melinda tried to hold back the smile, but she couldn't.

"It's always been the other way around, Aunt Paige." She said making Paige smile as well. She glimpsed towards Piper, still not completely convinced that her closeness to Melinda didn't bother her, only to find her sister looking at her daughter pensively.

"So can you tell us who Prue is?" she asked, and Melinda sighed.

"She's...me." she said with a small shrug "She's me in Chris' time line, or at least she was." she explained.

"Why the different name?" Paige questioned, overlooking for a second the fact that a version of her niece was apparently dead in the future.

"No, no different name. Her name was Melinda Prudence Halliwell, as is mine. I just guess her adoptive parents liked 'Prudence' more than 'Melinda'."

"Adoptive parents?" Piper asked, thinking she'd misheard. Melinda looked at her fingers like they were the most interesting thing she'd ever seen.

"Prue was given up for adoption when she was a baby." She muttered under her breath, but it was loud enough to be heard.

"I-I don't understand..How? Why?" Piper stumbled over her words, and Melinda turned to look at her, a sad expression taking over her face. She gave a small shrug.

"We don't really know."

"We have to find out!" Piper snapped, and Melinda flinched away. Piper mentally slapped herself "I'm sorry honey, I didn't mean to yell at you."

"It's okay, it's just...my head hurts." Melinda said, her fingers brushing over her forehead once more "And I'm sorry but you can't; future consequences, you might change too much."

"But I want to change this. I would never give you up-"

"Your reason for giving the baby up must've been really important, and you can't know it. You mustn't. You don't know what else might change if you do find out-"

"Okay, okay, calm down." Paige admonished "We understand that this is important, no need to get worked up." Melinda made a move to sit up, but Paige pushed her back on the bed.

"And you, do you understand that you'll have to let life play out the way it's supposed to?" Melinda asked looking at her mom. Piper held her gaze for a second, and then she turned away.

"Chris, Chris honey-" she didn't get to finish her sentence, and Chris orbed into the room.

"What happened?" he asked looking around worried.

"Oh, nothing happened." Piper said soothingly standing up to look at her son.

"Why did you call then? I was planning the attack on the Order-"

"You were going to take on the Order by yourself? Do you have death wish?" Melinda snapped, her eyes wide.

"I just didn't want to-" Chris stopped once he realised who had spoken "Mel!" he exclaimed, rushing to the bed and taking a seat opposite Paige.

"Someone looks happy to see me." Melinda teased, and Chris mocked an exasperated eye roll.

"Oh please, I didn't want them to accuse me of your death too." He shot back. Melinda frowned.

"Too? They've been accusing you of something else?" she asked her eyes glimpsing to her Mother and Aunt.

"Not them, Leo." Chris explained "He doesn't believe Wyatt is evil in my future."

"What?" Melinda yelled turning to her Mother for an answer "Is this true?"

"Honey, you need to understand that it's not easy-"

"I know it's not, but Wyatt tried to kill me!" she snapped, not missing how Piper flinched at her words "He killed Prue in cold blood! I know it's not easy to accept it, but you cannot honestly believe that Chris is lying-"

"We don't." Paige said calmly, speaking over Melinda's angry words "And Leo will come around, eventually."

"Yeah, I'm not going to hold my breath for that to happen."

"Melinda, you need to cut him some slack." Piper tried to resonate with her "He was the one to heal you and-"

"And what? Do I have to forget everything he's done because he acted like a decent human being this once? Do I have to forget everything he's put me through all these years?" Melinda burst.

"Melinda, Leo's done none of those things. He's not your father, sweetie." Piper said slowly, wanting to get through her daughter's anger.

Melinda took a deep breath, feeling her heart racing inside her ribcage. She was fuming. The fact that Leo was not her father, didn't absolve him in her mind. Sure, he wasn't responsible for the things she had accused him off, but he was not an innocent. He was once again picking Wyatt over his other two kids, accusing Chris of lying, and Melinda would not overlook that, no matter how much Piper wanted her to.

"You are not going after the Order on your own." She said, deciding to focus on Chris "You'll wait a couple of days until I'm back on my feet and we'll deal with them, together."

"Mel, we have no time to waste-" Melinda cut him off with a sharp look.

"You are **not **going after them alone." She repeated.

"Actually, you're both done demon hunting in secret." Piper broke between their argument.

"Not in secret, you always know who we are going after." Chris was quick to defend himself.

"Aha, you think I haven't noticed the book opened on a different page than when I last saw it? Usually open on demons I've never heard of before. Or the new bruises in your hands, and the way you sometimes limp?" Piper fixed her son with an amused glance. Chris couldn't really think that she was that inattentive, could he?

"Oh, you're so busted." Melinda teased, earning a playful glare.

"I just don't want to bother you with all the different leads. They usually end up in dead ends, so I only tell you about the powerful ones." Chris said his cheeks getting slightly red.

"Well, none of that from now on. You'll tell us about all the demons, and we'll take care of it." Piper said crossing her arms.

"Or else what? You're gonna ground me?" Chris asked hooking an eyebrow.

"Don't push it Mister; you're never too old to get grounded."

"I would listen to her." Paige whispered under her breath, and Piper narrowed her eyes to her sister. Melinda was having a really good time, so she tried to smother her yawn, but she was too late.

"Okay, I think we should all leave Melinda alone. She's still not fully healed, and she needs as much rest as she can get." Piper said. Melinda shook her head, grabbing at Chris' arm before he had a chance to get up.

"No, no I'm okay! I don't need any more sleep!" she said, but her drooping lashes didn't make her argument convincing.

"It's okay Miss Smarty-pants, we'll be right here when you wake up." Paige said with a wink, standing up. Melinda pouted.

"But I don't want to sleep again."

"Mel, you have to." Chris said, only for her to stick her bottom lip further out "C'mon, I need you to be on your A game if we're going after the Order." He said with a sly smirk.

"I'm not tired." Melinda said, but she let go of Chris' arm. She crossed her arms, as she watched everyone walking to the door. Piper was the last one to exit the room, giving her a smile before doing so.

Melinda let a sigh, and turned on her side, grimacing in pain when her skin brushed against the bedcovers. She was tired; tired off feeling so powerless, tired of every little movement hurting her to the point of tears. She hugged her pillow, and forced herself not to run away from the darkness that quickly surrounded her. Maybe sleep would help, everyone seemed to think so, and Melinda could do nothing but listen to them.

* * *

**A/N: Good? Bad? Awful? You tell me! **

**SilverSun: thanks for the review, and yeah; I think I'm gonna write the prequel. Don't worry I'm not going to forget DT, I'll only stop uploading if I get writer's block, not because of another story ;) **

**habibagora: hey, I'm glad that you love the story! And thanks for reviewing! Oh, no need to apologize for your ship preferences. I actually have no problem with Coop, I just hate how Phoebe changed after they vanquished Cole, and I want to write her like she was in the first three seasons, and I kinda doubt that season 1-3Phoebe would date someone like Coop. **

**lizardmomma: you're write, I could probably fit the prequel in two long one-shots, but I want to flesh it out. I'll start writing it, and I'll see where it's going to take me! **

**PS; Thanks for all your reviews! I really appreciate them! **


	24. Chapter 24

**Disclaimer: I don't own the series Charmed or any of the original characters. **

**A/N: ****Hello everybody! I wish you all had a happy Easter, and if you were not celebrating a great weekend! This is another filler, and it's on the short side, but I had to update because it's been a long while since the last time I did. I hope you'll like it!**

* * *

Melinda bounced down the steps, nearly slipping on the parquet. She had been on bed rest for a week, and when she was finally allowed to get up, she wouldn't stop moving. The attack on the Order was successful, and ended way sooner than she expected, considering that they were their main lead for more than a month. No one was more upset than Chris when they found themselves on another dead end.

Melinda was singing under her breath, heading to the kitchen, skipping instead of walking. Only when she got there, she backtracked and went back to the dining room. Four pair of eyes were staring at her; two of them surprised, one neutral, and the other one confused. Melinda felt her cheeks flushing, her hands quickly coming to the hem of her long white t-shirt, and pulling it towards her bare knees. An apologetic smile took over her face as she looked at her Aunts.

"Um, hi." She said timidly. Paige leaned forward, her head resting in her hands, her fingers massaging her temples.

"Hi, Mel, you're here." Phoebe said in an over-excited voice, making Melinda cringe; it wasn't good when Phoebe was trying so hard to look excited "Why are you here?"

"B-because I..um." Melinda searched her mind for something to say, but she came up blank. She was starting to get rusty; coming up with lies and excuses, was usually a piece of cake for her "I'm hungry." She decided to be honest.

"If we knew you were here, we would have invited you for diner." Phoebe said standing up. Melinda frowned at her, as her Aunt eagerly pushed her towards the table. Paige narrowed her eyes.

"Phoebe." She said warningly.

"What? Melinda is hungry, and we've got food." Phoebe said, forcing her niece down on one of the chairs. Melinda looked questioningly at Paige, feeling more than a little confused.

"Well, I'm sure Mel could make something for herself-"

"But she doesn't have to." Phoebe's voice had an air of finality, as she took her seat next to Jason.

There was an awkward silence, as Melinda started filling her plate, her eyes glimpsing towards Paige every now and then, her gaze always questioning. Paige herself was half glaring at Phoebe, who was busy bubbling about nonsense. Richard was pushing his food around his plate with his fork, a faraway expression on his face. Jason was the only one who was still looking at her in the same way he looked at her when she first walked in; puzzled.

"...and then maybe after Paris, we could come back here-"

"Aren't you going to introduce us?" he cut through Phoebe's rambling. Phoebe's eyes flickered between Melinda and Jason, before landing on Paige, who tilted her head on the side waggling her eyebrows. Phoebe plastered a smile on her face.

"Sure I am! Jason, this is my...cousin, Melinda." She said gesturing towards the brunette, who was about to swallow a mouthful of potatoes "And Mel, this is my boyfriend, Jason." Melinda hurriedly gulped down her food, and smiled.

"Nice to meet you."

"Yeah...you too." Jason eyed Phoebe "Your _cousin_ never mentioned you."

"Eh, we are not that close." Melinda said, and then she saw Phoebe's alarmed expression, the one Jason missed as he turned to look at her "I mean, we don't _live _close. I'm from...um." Melinda kicked herself mentally; lying was a second nature to her, why was it suddenly so difficult? "Utah, yeah, I'm from Utah." She said, twirling a lock of her dark hair between her fingers "We don't see much of each other, but we are close."

"Utah? Really?" Jason asked, his eyebrows raising. Melinda reached for her water, nodding yes "Interesting...And you are related from..?"

"From my Mother's side." Phoebe chimed in "My mother and her mother were cousins-"

"Were? Your mother is also dead?" Jason asked, and Melinda flinched. Her eyes fell on her dish "I'm sorry I didn't-"

"It's okay." Melinda said swiftly, a brief smile making its appearance before falling away "It's just still hard."

"Okay, now that we're through with the introduction." Melinda was relieved when Paige called the attention away from her "Phoebe was about to tell us something, before Melinda joined us, didn't you, Pheebs?"

"No, no, Phoebe didn't want to say anything." Phoebe shrugged it off. Paige glared at her older sister, kicking her under the table. Phoebe yelped, but she managed to turn it into a cough rather successfully.

"But wasn't there something you really wanted to talk about?" Paige pressed on.

"Um, Phoebe, is there something wrong?" Jason asked and Phoebe's eyes snapped to him.

"What? No, no, nothing wrong." She leaned forward to press a kiss against his lips. Paige turned to Richard expectantly.

"You must have great business karma." He said, kind of awkwardly, and Melinda slapped her palm against her forehead, subtly as she could.

"Eh, karma? I don't believe in that staff." Jason shrugged. Richard's eyebrows raised so much that reached his hairline.

"No, not at all?"

"Well, I mean, you know...If somebody cuts me off on the road, I'd like to think that they're gonna get what's coming to them."

"Yep, that's karma alright." Melinda mumbled to herself. Richard nodded along.

"Karma; the great cosmic justice system. You reap what you sow ."

"Doesn't always work though, does it?" Melinda said bitterly, pinning a potato with her fork.

"It does, it's just doesn't work right away-"

"Right, right so murderers can go around for years upon years, taunting the victims' families and the 'great cosmic justice system' will nip their butt with a tragic death! Is that-"

"Mel." Paige's voice cut through her words, forcing her to shut up "Not now." Melinda took a calming breath.

"I'm sorry, Richard, I didn't mean to snap like that." She apologized.

"Great, apology accepted." Paige clapped her hands once, before turning her attention to her sister "Anyway, Phoebe, why don't you...?" she trailed off. Phoebe took a deep breath.

"Okay, alright...Jason, there's something that I want to share, with you right now." Phoebe said her fingers tensing around her glass "And that...would be...a toast!" she finished off with a huge, fake, grin. Jason's look was incredulous, but he reached for his glass anyway.

"Hey, don't I get a glass?" Melinda asked frowning.

"Aha, yeah in a year." Paige said with a sweet, albeit sarcastic, smile. Melinda crossed her arms.

"A toast, to your new merger." Phoebe said raising her glass. Tipping the flute back, she emptied its contents. Melinda noticed that Paige brought the glass to her mouth, but didn't take a sip.

"Pheebs, could you help me? With the cobbler?" she didn't sound upset, but Melinda knew very well the look that Phoebe was receiving.

"Am I missing something?" Jason asked, when the two sisters left for the kitchen. Melinda looked at Richard who in return looked at Jason shrugging.

They sat there in silence, Richard drumming his fingers against the table, and Jason's eyes trailing towards the kitchen every few seconds. Melinda tried to eat, but the tension was too much for her to handle; if she tried to swallow another bite she was certain she'd throw up.

"So..." she said letting her fork down "Jason, what ergh..what do you do for a living?" she asked with a pleasant smile. Mentally she wanted to kick herself; really, she couldn't come up with anything better than asking him about his job?

"I am a businessman; I happen to own your cousin's newspaper." Jason looked towards the kitchen again "What is taking them so long?"

"I'm gonna check if everything is okay." Richard pushed his chair back, and almost run away. _Great_, Melinda thought to herself, _freaking perfect! Why did I ever walk down here? I should've orbed straight into the kitchen. _

"A businessman." She said, attracting Jason's attention again "That's interesting." She lied.

"Yeah, no, I know it's a boring job." Jason said with a refuel smile.

"No, c'mon, don't say that."

"It's the truth. Anyway, what about you? Are you still in school?" he asked.

"Um, still in school, yeah." She said pushing a lock of hair behind her ear. She knew she had to keep Jason occupied, but she'd give anything to steer the conversation away from her person.

"And what do you wanna do when you grow up?" Jason asked with a soft chuckle.

"Well, I'm a pre-law student, so with fingers crossed..." she trailed off, crossing her fingers.

"A lawyer, huh? That's an interesting field." Melinda nodded. It wasn't really a lie; if things were different she would've loved to be a lawyer. But they weren't "It's a difficult job, especially in the beginning."

"Oh, I already have an office waiting for me." Melinda said as a gentle smile made its appearance on her face.

"You do?"

"Yeah, my dad is a lawyer-" Melinda was interrupted by Jason's surprised,

"Leo?" the girl's eyes snapped to the man standing a few feet away "What are you doing here?"

"Just bringing dessert." He said holding up the platter in his right hand "You want some?" Jason just blinked at him.

"The girls are just tidying up." Richard spoke up, jerking his thumb towards the kitchen.

"Ugh, Jason, you'll have to excuse me." Melinda muttered quickly, reluctant to spend another minute in the same room with Leo "I'm going to go upstairs-"

"Oh c'mon." Jason cut her off "You were telling me about your dad." He said and Melinda could feel Leo's eyes on the side of her head "He's a lawyer?"

"H-he is." Melinda mumbled, doing her best to ignore Leo "He's the best lawyer in San-Salt Lake." Melinda corrected herself. Jason didn't seem to notice her small slip up.

"Salt Lake?" Leo questioned, and Melinda bit her tongue to preserve herself from cursing him to the next century. She turned to look at him with a fake smile.

"Yeah, Salt Lake City, you know in Utah where I am from." She gave him a pointed look.

"Oh... right." Leo bobbed his head.

"I bet your father is pretty proud of you." Jason said and Melinda lowered her head "You are a good kid." She felt a squeeze on her arm and looked up to find Jason smiling at her.

"Thanks."

"I'm going to the kitchen." He declared a second later, swiftly standing up. Melinda panicked and when Melinda panicked, Melinda usually acted instinctively.

"You...froze him." Leo said, and Melina groaned, hiding her face in her hands "You have Piper's powers?"

"Leo, focus, bigger picture!" Melinda snapped; hadn't they already been through this during the memory spell fiasco? Leo held his ground.

"Can you also blow things up?"

"Yes, alright? I've got all of mom's powers! And one from Aunt Phoebe. Now, can we focus, on the problem at hand?"

"Why aren't you with Chris? I thought you two would go down to the underworld tonight." Leo went on.

"We would, but Chris hadn't slept in three days, so we took the night off." Maybe if she answered all of his questions, Leo would decide to help her with Jason.

"No way, Chris would never take the night off." Leo said shaking his head. Melinda sighed.

"He didn't have much off a choice; I slipped a sleeping pill in his food." She shrugged.

"What? Did you at least check if he's allergic or-"

"Oh for crying out loud Leo!" Melinda yelled, throwing her hands up "Stop acting like you care!"

"Ugh, guys." Richard said before Leo had a chance to answer "I think we might have a problem." Richard pointed where Jason should've been, still frozen, but he wasn't there.

"Oops." Melinda whispered looking at her hands; she had got to learn how to express her frustration without losing her magical hold on someone. She followed Jason into the kitchen, just in time to see him fainting. Her eyes widened when he crashed by her feet, and worried she looked up to find out what had caused him to collapse.

"Oh, that would do it." She muttered to herself as she looked at her Aunts and Mother standing in front of her "Did you guys just orbed here?"

"You weren't supposed to let him come into the kitchen!" Phoebe hissed kneeling down next to her boyfriend. Melinda crossed her arms.

"And what was I supposed to do? Freeze him?" she heard Leo clearing his throat and sent a glare towards him.

"We should better move him to the living room." Richard suggested.

"Yeah, we should." Leo agreed.

Melinda leaned against one of the counters, hopping on it as Richard and Leo hoisted Jason's unconscious body, with Phoebe and Paige following on their heels. Melinda touched her back against the wall, and let a sigh. She couldn't remember Phoebe sharing this particular story with her, and Phoebe had shared pretty much everything about her love life with Melinda; mostly because she thought her stories would help the younger witch with her own love problems. The girl wondered briefly if in the original time line Phoebe and Jason's story had followed a different course, before Piper brought her back to reality.

"So Phoebe's dinner didn't go according to plan, huh?" Melinda looked at her, smirking.

"Is this your way of starting a small chat?" she asked, and Piper gave her a playful eye roll.

"Well, you can't blame a mother for trying."

"True. What happened to your forehead?" Melinda asked, touching her own.

"Oh swarm demons." Piper said offhandedly.

"Swarm demons? As in the distant relatives of Kazi demons and vampires?" Melinda asked frowning.

"Yeah...we kinda riled them up."

"No problem; Chris and I will take care of them." Melinda said chirpily.

"Aha, after Chris wakes up." Piper gave her a reprimanding look "I still think it's not a good idea you gave him a sleeping pill."

"He needed to get a good night's rest, and I helped him out." Melinda defended herself "It's not a felony."

"You tell him that when he wakes up." Piper chuckled at her daughter's pained grimace.

"Hey, you want me to take care of that?" Melinda changed the subject, pointing at Piper's wound.

"You think you could?"

"It wouldn't hurt to try, would it?" Melinda asked with a small shrug. Piper walked closer to the counter, and looked at Melinda, as the girl gathered her wits. With a slightly shaking hand, she spread her fingers over the gush on Piper's forehead. Her eyes widened a little when she saw the golden glow playing under her fingertips.

"Thanks." Piper sounded as surprised as Melinda felt.

"Yeah...no problem." Melinda was looking at her hands as if she'd never seen them before. Piper couldn't stop herself from laughing.

"Man, I wish I had my camera right now. Your face is precious." She mused, effectively snapping Melinda out of her amazement.

"Ha ha, touché." Melinda said coolly, her cheeks slightly red. Piper crossed her arms "Shouldn't you go check on your sisters?"

"My sisters, are grown up girls; they don't need me checking up on them."

"Aha, okay fine. You can stay here. I." Melinda said reaching for one of the apples in the fruit basked to her left "On the other hand, am going to check on my brother."

"Don't you dare-" but Melinda was already gone, after a small wave of her free hand "Go demon haunting on your own." Piper said to the now empty kitchen. The witch huffed, and started for the living room, seriously considering binding the girl's powers.

* * *

Melinda orbed into Chris' room at the P3. Her brother had fiercely objected into moving to the Manor insisting that it would only distract him. But Melinda knew better than that; he only wanted to keep his distance because he was afraid of getting close to them, and then going back to a future where they were dead. She couldn't say she blamed him, but she couldn't very well explain his reasons to Piper who was heartbroken over his refusal, even though she hid it well.

Chris was curled up on his side, the pillow clenched in his hands. Melinda took a sit on his desk chair, and looked at the various maps and notes on top of his desk. She still couldn't make head from tails of his notes; he would start describing a demon, and why he thought he was a possible threat, and then out of the blue he'd start writing of the phases of the moon. To her none of it made sense.

Melinda stayed there for thirty more minutes, finishing her apple and folding some of Chris' clothes that were discarded on the floor. It was a proof of how out of it her brother was the fact that there were clothes lying around; Chris was usually a neat freak. Feeling better about her decision to force him to get some sleep into his system, now that she had actual proof that he needed it, Melinda orbed back to the Manor.

As she usually did after stopping by Chris' room, Melinda orbed herself straight to the attic, wanting to check some of the names she'd spotted in his notes, before going to bed. What she witnessed there though, wasn't something she wanted to see.

"Richard!" she yelped, and the man in the middle of the candles-circle, jumped frightened "What the hell do you think you're doing?" she demanded, rushing to the book "Aura cleanse?" she mumbled to herself looking at the spell.

"Melinda, let me explain." Richard begged, nearing the podium. Melinda crossed her arms, fixing him with a hard look.

"Okay, explain." Richard pinched the bridge of his nose, taking a breath. His hand moved to his hair, and he ruffled with it, as his eyes made their way to hers.

"Look, what happened today, with Jason, it was all my fault."

"Why? Were you the one lying to him about being a witch?" Melinda asked cocking an eyebrow.

"No, but my karma-" Melinda groaned.

"I should've known it would be something like this!" she snapped, closing the book forcefully.

"I'm serious. I'm convinced I'm carrying the burden of my family's karma." Richard went on, and Melinda had a hard time trying to not roll her eyes "We did so much bad with magic, now magic's doing bad to me...And those I care about."

Melinda was still looking at him expectantly, several minutes after he was done talking. It took her a while to realise that that was the only explanation he was willing to give her. When she did, she uncrossed her arms, rounded the podium, and stood before him, her light green eyes pinning in his.

"Now that's probably the most ridiculous thing, I've ever heard. And I've heard some pretty ridiculous things." Richard opened his mouth to talk, but Melinda gave him a look to stop him "Okay, first things first; that's not how karma works. If your family did some bad things, things that cost people to lose their lives or get hurt, you **don't **inherit their bad karma. And I'm talking from experience." The last part was spoken in a lower voice, but it was still audible, making Richard frown "Now, even if karma worked like that, there's no karma cleansing spell. None. You see you just don't mess with the DNA of the universe; **bad** things happen when you do."

"It wouldn't hurt to try." Richard insisted. Melinda curled her hands into fists, her nails digging in her skin.

"What part of 'bad things will happen if you do try', don't you understand?" she asked, her voice wavering. She was getting really tired of his stubbornness.

"If we did try, and the spell backfired the only who would get hurt would be me. And I'm willing to take that risk!" Richard said taking a step forward, entering her personal space.

"Well, aren't you selfish? You think that if the spell backfires on you, Paige won't be upset?" she questioned kinking an eyebrow. Richard's expression softened, and his eyes fell to his shoes "Right, you just hadn't thought of her, huh?"

"Wrong; the only reason I want to do this is for Paige! I want her to be safe!"

"And that's all she wants for you too!" Melinda snapped "But it won't happen if you keep messing around with magic, and you know it, Richard."

"But you could help me." Richard said his hand coming to rest on her left arm "You could cast the spell for me. You could-"

"I'm not going to be the reason why Paige gets pissed off and heartbroken." Melinda cut him off "And you can't ask me too."

Richard breathed heavily, pinning in her eyes for a long second, before hanging his head.

"I know...you're right."

"Look, I know that whatever I say it won't stop you from trying." Melinda said, wishing there was something she could do to stop him, if not because she liked him then for Paige's sake "But please, please don't do it. Don't cast the spell-" Richard shook his head, stepping away from her.

"You don't understand." He said before she had a chance to go on "No one understands."

"No, Richard. You don't know me well enough to say that." Melinda gave him a sympathetic smile "If there's anyone who can understand the guilt someone feels because of the things his family has done, then that's me." Richard again frowned at her "And no I can't tell you what I mean. I can just say that I **know**; I've been there, and I realised it wasn't my fault. Like it's not your fault. So don't risk it, don't do it."

Richard didn't say anything, and Melinda hoped against hope he was going to listen to her. She knew that Paige would have to face his problem with magic sooner or later, but that didn't mean she wanted to see her Aunt getting her heart broken by the man she loved. It was inevitable, and Melinda was scared of changing too many things because there was a real possibility of her Aunt never meeting her Uncle, and that was the last thing she wanted, but she just wished to be able to postpone the heartache. At least until the whole Wyatt turning evil business was dealt with.

They spent almost five minutes just standing there in silence, before Richard decided to break it.

"I need to..." Richard trailed off, and Melinda nodded.

"Yeah." She mumbled wrapping an arm around her middle "Yeah, it's getting late." Richard started towards the door when she stopped him "Hey, where is everyone else?" she asked, realising for the first time that the rest of the house was eerily quiet.

"Oh." Richard paused, and turned to look at her over his shoulder "Phoebe went to find Jason, and Paige with Piper said they were going to go to the underworld to find the swarm leader."

"They went after him on their own?!" Melinda exclaimed, and Richard nodded. The girl groaned "Jesus, I told her we'd take care of it!" Melinda hid her face in her hands, feeling exasperated. Would Piper ever start listening to her? Chances were slim, but a girl could hope.

"I'm gonna go. Good night." She heard Richard mumbling, and then his footsteps sounded as he walked away.

Melinda let a heavy sigh, her head rolling back. _Great_! Piper and Paige would probably get themselves into trouble, and she had no way of helping them, Richard was off with a make-do karma cleansing spell, Phoebe's mind would be off for days because of the Jason thing, and the only person Melinda could vent too was knocked out because of the sleeping pills she'd given to him.

Melinda was about to start searching for the demons in Chris' notes, as a way to clean her mind, but she felt her left side burning her. She hissed in pain, and wrapped both her arms around her torso, almost doubling over; she wasn't completely healed yet, and she had a theory why that was. A theory she hadn't shared with anyone because she knew they were going to go mental on her. But it was there, in her mind, and as the pain refused to go away, she was more and more convinced that she was right.

Feeling the beginning of a headache settling in, and with the left side of her body aching her to the point of tears, Melinda gave up. She orbed into her room, and quickly got under the covers, welcoming with relief the familiar blackness that soon enveloped her.

* * *

**A/N: Good? Bad? Awful? You tell me! **

**P.S; Thanks for your reviews! Keep 'em coming! Pretty please :) **


End file.
